


The Chains of Fate

by pornosophical



Series: The Last Heroes [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 51,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6367951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pornosophical/pseuds/pornosophical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the ruling Olympian gods, save a powerless Apollo, have been bound within their thrones. To keep the peace, some of their children have taken their parent’s power to become living gods. The Trimurti, the ruling triumvirate of the Hindu pantheon, have given Olympus until the Winter Solstice to repair the Olympians’ thrones and re-anchor the Axis Mundi, the grand enchantment chained to the World Tree that maintains the Mist and ensures causality in the face of destiny. </p><p>If the gods are not restored by the Winter Solstice, then Olympus will be razed to the ground, and a new pantheon installed in its place. Building new thrones for the gods should be easy enough, but Enoch and Ravana both eluded capture, along with Ravana’s apostate demigods, and there are other, older dangers, long thought dead and gone, emerging from the shadows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“When fate is fouled by tainted blood_

_The ichor of Olympus will turn to mud_

_In Wisdom’s house there hides the key_

_To build the cage that sets them free_

_Two heroes are marked and called by fate_

_Both cursed by love and blessed by hate_

_Reforge the silver hand to light the way_

_Love the fatal flaw that saves the day_

_As a severed thread reweaves its past_

_So the first enemy becomes the last_

_From the ashes of defeat will rise the phoenix king_

_For victory’s sake, the hero must lose everything.”_

 

Manhattan - Percy's Apartment

_They will come for you where you are most vulnerable_

_In your home, in your sleep, even in your dreams_

_Safety is an illusion_  

Percy 

Water, water all around him, and he couldn’t breathe. Percy struggled to inhale deeper, and it was like sucking molasses into his lungs, like the filthy, slurry water that had choked him in the well with Jason and Piper. He could breathe, but barely, and only with considerable effort that grew more demanding with each passing moment.

He was reaching, reaching up. Annabeth was yelling at him, telling him to stand up. Percy wanted to protest; he was underwater, and there was nothing to stand on! But it was all he could do to catch his breath. The weight on his chest sat so deep and heavy Pear feared the ocean was trying to crush him flat.

The water didn’t love him anymore, and Percy wanted to weep. Wanted to sink into the darkness and away from the pain of loss and rejection, submerge himself in the warm, comforting dark.

This darkness loved him. Its shadows should have been terrifying, but somehow they weren’t, they were warm and enveloping. They weren’t like the other darkness, the one that sucked and pulled him down and down and down—

 

Something massive stirred in the fathomless dark.

_boy???_

 

 --and down to Tartarus that crushing sucking living malevolent darkness that crawled up into his brain and _throbbed._

Percy groaned and rolled over, waking enough to feel his legs tangled in his blankets before descending back into sleep. He fell into the water again, but the water was gray and light, and he could finally breathe. Filling his lungs was a relief, a pure pleasure he’d somehow taken for granted. The air was warm and had a smell like rose petals, lemon, and spice.

He was in a tea shop. Percy blinked. He was also surprisingly lucid.

Oh, good, the dreams were back. He supposed one of the side-effects of restoring the source of prophecy at Delphi meant he got to have these weird clairvoyant dreams again. Didn’t mean he had to like it, though.

The teashop was unremarkable for the most part. Percy looked around at the ornate faded tiles, the dented hookahs, and the chipped glasses left on tables. The room was empty except for a single man, slowly sipping the last of his tea. Working around him, a young man cleared the tables, holding himself nervously and constantly glancing back at the man drinking tea. The boy didn’t look much older than Percy if he was any older than Percy.

He was also clearly terrified.

Percy walked around to see the man’s face as the waiter finally amassed enough bravery to approach him. He drew in a hissing breath.

It was Enoch. Immaculately trimmed facial hair, cold eyes, and dressed in clothing rather more subdued than when Percy had last seen him, though no less fancy.

“Excuse me, sir?” the young man said timidly. “We don’t take… this.”

Enoch looked up at the young waiter who was offering him the bill, his hands shaking as Enoch stared at him. He and took a slow, deliberate sip of his tea, and then set the glass on its saucer with a little glass clink. He took the bill folder and opened it.

Inside was a receipt, and a large, silver coin, blank like a metal disc.

Enoch looked up at the boy. “I have been patronizing this tea house for years, and it has never been a problem before. What has changed?”

The boy’s eyes flickered to the side as if he held back from looking behind him only by the barest margin. Enoch looked up and saw the older man standing behind the counter.

“Ah, so your father has finally taken over,” he said. “Leave it there, child. I shall settle my account personally.”

The boy withdrew, looking relieved, but still fearful. Percy didn’t blame him.

Enoch took another sip of his tea and settled the cup down on its plate with another little clink. The sound was like thunder in the teashop. Percy wanted to yell at the man and his son to run, but they wouldn’t hear him. It was important to watch, to learn and gain any advantage he could

Percy hated having just to watch, bearing witness to whatever horrible thing might happen.

Enoch stood up and dusted himself off before striding up to the counter. The man behind it glared at him.

“Faruq.”

“Mr. Dee,” said Faruq stiffly in a much heavier accent than his son. “Jahid, go take out the trash.”

“Your son tells me that my money is no longer accepted here,” said Enoch as Jahid practically sprinted out the back. Percy prayed the boy kept running. If only he could do something…

Being helpless drove him crazy. He could feel the itch of an urge to action rising in him like a feverish tide.

“I have no use for your strange blank coins, I need real money,” said Faruq, crossing his arms after his son had left.

“This coin is worth far more than any cup of tea,” Enoch said, his manner as placid as drying paint.

“Yet we cannot spend them, isn’t that right?” Faruq shot back facetiously. “Well, my father and my grandfather may not have questioned the scary old djinn, but I did! I took the coins in to have them valued—oh, yes, I did—and they are worthless! Not even silver!”

“In the eyes of science, perhaps,” said Enoch. “Here and now they do indeed lack value. But in the Kingdom to come, their value will be beyond measure, a reward for your father’s line for a service done centuries ago. You are lucky the debt extends to your line, and that your line does not end with you.”

Percy felt a chill. This wasn’t going to end well.

Faruq uncrossed his arms, suddenly wary. “What?”

“ _You will take the coin_ ,” said Enoch, his voice etching a powerful compulsion into the man before him. Faruq’s face went slack; his eyes glazed over. Enoch raised the coin before his eyes “ _You will place it with its brothers. Every day you will rise with the sun, and take the coins out and gaze upon them. Each time the pleasure will grow a little greater, and the pain becomes a little sharper until it kills you._ ”

The man gasped, taking the coin in a hand that shook so badly he might have dropped it, except his fingers here white from the force with which they gripped the coin.

“Judging from your build, I give you… a year and a half, maybe a less,” said Enoch companionably. He clapped the man on the shoulder. “ _Salam,_ Faruq. I’ll not see you again, in this kingdom, or the next.”

Percy scowled as the scene swirled around him. He hated dreams like this, even if they did give him useful information. The next kingdom? What did Enoch mean?

At least, he hadn’t killed the man’s son. Percy didn’t know what he’d do if his dreams forced him to watch an innocent kid die.

He had enough blood on his conscience.

The scene re-settled, but it was still on Enoch. Now he was walking through an open air market. The sun wasn’t high in the sky yet, but it was already hot. Percy could practically feel the weight of the heat on his skin through the dream, the wavering hot air and sweat on people’s brows made it feel even more real.

Enoch didn’t sweat as he walked through the rising heat.

Annabeth had explained who Enoch was, at least as best she could. Apparently he was pretty sketchy from a historical perspective; the early church had declared gospels around him apocryphal, and even the first Jews had only scattered mentions of him. Supposedly the son of Noah, but also an angel?

According to Annabeth, he was a Nephilim, half-mortal and half-angel, and the only true one, because he was made by—get this—God, whose name was apparently Yahweh. At some point, Yahweh had made a serious play for monotheism. This was what led to the rest of the gods teaming up and laying the smack down on him, of course. Percy had no idea what this meant for, like, religion in general, but for him, it was just exhausting.

He followed Enoch through the winding streets of… Cairo? Jerusalem? Istanbul? Percy wasn’t sure. Somewhere in the Middle East, though.

Annabeth would have known, she’d have taken one look at the curved arches of the doorways and told him when they were made, what they meant, which styles came before and after, and then what neighborhood they were in.

Of course, even when they’d been going out she hadn’t actually been in his dreams. Well, not this way at any rate.

Enoch stopped under the awning of a shop. Percy realized that another man had come to a stop behind.

This other man was Asian, baby-faced but ageless, wearing loose linen clothes. He looked like he was some movie producer, the kind who made big blockbuster summer action flicks and yelled constantly at his phone, but was still handsome enough to be mistaken for an actor whenever he visited a set.

Ego. Percy had never met a god without one.

“Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto,” Enoch greeted the strange man. He raised his hand to idly examine a ring that Percy hadn’t noticed before. It had a seal on it that Percy couldn’t quite make out it from this angle. “And what business does the Shining Queen of Heaven have for me on this fine day?”

Tsukiyomi tilted his head to one side. “Your first question is not as to how I found you, when all the heavens search for you, scouring every corner of creation at the whisper of your name?”

“Oh, I know exactly how you found me, dear cousin,” Enoch said with relish.

Tsukiyomi’s face twisted up with rage, but he didn’t say anything.

Now that… Percy frowned and examined this newcomer. He was clearly a god, an East Asian one judging by his name. And no god that Percy knew would tolerate something like Enoch calling them “cousin.” The whole point of that was to keep the peace between pantheons, but Enoch wasn’t a god. He wasn’t even an angel. He was a Nephilim.

If a demigod tried that… well, if Percy tried it, he'd be smote faster than he could blink. Or worse. But Tsukuyomi held his anger back and let Enoch have his jab.

“However,” said Enoch as his smile grew sharper, crueler. “The Broker would not part with such valuable information for anything less than a king’s ransom—or rather, a god’s. And if this price is not being paid by your pantheon, then it is being paid by you alone. So the only question left, if you are here on your own behalf, is what could possibly motivate you to pay such a price.”

Tsukiyomi scowled. “You know damn well why I have come.”

“Your daughter,” Enoch said. “You wish to free her from Ravana’s grasp, and ensure her safety. And you think that I will help you… for what reason, exactly?”

So one of the apostate demigods was Tsukiyomi’s daughter? Percy would have to ask Annabeth—he’d have to find out what Tsukuyomi was a god of. All of Ravana’s demigods had been named for their divine parent’s chief domain to represent their place in the pantheon he’d been trying to create.

“Because Ravana ultimately stands in your way,” said Tsukiyomi. “And... I am not above paying for your aid.”

Enoch smiled to himself.

“You’ve intrigued me,” said Enoch. “Come, let us talk further.”

The two began to walk, and Percy moved to follow them.

Tsukiyomi paused and turned to look at Percy—no, not at him—through him. “We are observed.”

“Oh, we are, are we?” asked Enoch, looking sour, his eyes darting about. He raised his hand, the one with the ring, in a warding gesture, and pain _erupted_ inside Percy’s head, hot lightning fingers dragging their claws through his brain.

Percy shot up in his bed, gasping for breath, sick to his stomach, and wishing like hell he’d never been born a demigod.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys have been so amazing I'm gonna push this chapter out prematurely just because I want you to enjoy some shippy dividends (normal update schedule will resume on Friday). also tw: mom humor and puberty-shaming

Manhattan – Percy’s Room

_Soon all of this will come crashing down_  

Percy 

Sally Jackson was the greatest mother in the world, and Percy would fight anyone who said otherwise about her.

But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t also an evil, _evil_ woman.

“You know, you don’t have to do this with me,” Sally said, sounding far too amused for the sort of inhumane torture she was putting Percy through. She waved The Book at him. “Paul is more than willing to talk to you if it’d make you more comfortable speaking another man, and he’s taught a health class before, so--”

“We don’t have to do this at all!” Percy cried. He did his best not even to look at The Book, much less the other… things. “Mom, I’m 17, I know all about... you know--stuff.”

“You mean sex?” asked Sally archly. “And that includes sex with other men? _Anal_ sex?”

“Yes!” said Percy, trying not to flinch every time his mom said sex. “Mom, please, just trust me.”

“I do, Percy,” she said, gentler now. “Or I wouldn’t be leaving for the weekend.”

Sally had been accepted to attend a somewhat exclusive writer’s retreat for the weekend. After Percy disappeared she’d thrown herself into her writing. It became her chief outlet for her feelings during the months when she didn’t know if Percy was alive or dead.

She almost hadn’t gone to the retreat, but Percy had talked her into it. He loved his mom, but she’d been kind of smothering him since he got back. He didn’t begrudge her that, but it didn’t mean he appreciated it. He was a teenage boy, and he liked a certain amount of privacy.

This… this was the opposite of the kind of privacy he wanted.

“It’s not like Jason and Piper won’t be there,” grumbled Percy. “Or Paul.”

Jason and Piper were joining Nico and Percy for the weekend for a big double date weekend. They were doing the big double date weekend thing because word on the street (Jason) was that Nico had been driving himself to distraction with anxiety over the whole mess. Percy wasn’t supposed to know this, but apparently Jason was all kinds of invested in seeing their relationship work out, which was kind of funny but also really convenient.

Hence the double date weekend idea.

It also made the whole thing an easier sell to his mom. With the caveat that Paul would be there too, of course. Percy had gotten used to a more cursory adult supervision in the form of satyrs, having Paul around would be a nice step back from his mom.

Paul was really good about giving Percy space. He was thoughtful like that, part of why Percy liked him. Paul didn’t feel the need to constantly poke his nose into Percy’s room just to check that he was there.

“Paul’s going to be busy correcting homework, and there’s more than one room in the apartment, Percy,” Sally said with a little smirk because apparently she liked to fry Percy’s brain for fun. “There’s lots of trouble teenagers can get up to without sex, and I’m trusting you on those too.”

“I promise not to throw any wicked sick parties in the apartment while you’re away,” said Percy, mostly sarcastic. She gave him a look that stated that she saw his sass, and it amused her, so she would deign to allow it for now.

“It’s the wicked sick party in your pants I’m worried about, Mister,” she said, and Percy cursed himself for forgetting who the _real_ sass master was. “I’m not so innocent to think that it’s always gonna be tickle fights and wrestling.”

Percy knew there was no chance his face wasn’t glowing.

The morning after he’d come home, Percy had woken up to a somewhat amazing sight: Nico di Angelo’s sleeping face. Smiles might have been few and far between, but Percy had never seen Nico utterly without his guard up. Sleep erased his brooding scowl, eased the lines of his face, and made him look soft and sweet, almost pretty.

At some point in the night Nico had rolled over with the comforter so Percy was only sleeping under a sheet, which was why he woke up feeling cold. Instead of pulling the covers back, Percy had decided to snuggle up to Nico.

Nico had woken up and immediately gone rigid, tension in every line of his body. Then he’d realized where he was, and why he’d woken up, and Percy would swear that Nico had melting powers with how utterly boneless he went in Percy’s arms.

The morning had been shaping up to be _very_ enjoyable, up until his mom walked in to see what all the noise was about.

Luckily for everyone involved the sound of the bed frame smacking against the wall was because Percy had decided it would be a good idea to tickle Nico. The ensuing wrestling match had quickly degenerated into a rambunctious free-for-all. 

Certain rules were laid down after that, though they were much laxer than Percy had expected. Nico could come over whenever he and Percy wanted, and spend the night too (if they kept the door open), but they had to let Sally, or Paul, know ahead of time, and…

And _this_.

“I know you’re not having sex right now—“

“MOM!”

“—But someday you will. If not with Nico, then with someone else, and I wouldn’t be a good mom if I didn’t make sure you were properly prepared for that decision.”

It was hard to argue with that logic, so Percy didn’t try. One of the things dating Annabeth had taught him was if an argument was lost then you abandoned it and moved on.

“However, if you are absolutely certain you don’t want to talk about it right now, and that it won’t come up this weekend, then I won’t push you,” she said. “For now. As long as you promise me you’ll read up on it, I got a book with lots of illustrations and diagrams so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Percy sighed in relief.

Sally put the bag of… things that made Percy feel intensely uncomfortable down, along with The Book, on the floor. “Now just remember: if you need anything you feel you can’t get yourself, please ask Paul or I to get it for you, okay? Paul won’t say a word to me if you don’t want him to. My priority is your safety, and what feels comfortable to you.”

"I always feel comfortable talking to you, mom,” said Percy, because he did. The night he came home they’d done a lot of crying, and not all at once. It had been an emotionally exhausting week for both of them. “And I promise I won’t make any stupid decisions.”

About sex, he almost added but couldn’t quite bring himself to say.

“That’s not exactly what I’m worried about, Percy,” Sally said gently. “Love is going to make you a bit stupid, that’s part and parcel of romance. What I want is for you to have the tools to navigate all of your decisions, even the stupid ones.”

The way his mom said ‘stupid’ so clearly meant ‘sex’ she might as well have just come out and said it, except Percy didn't know if his heart could handle it.

“You never did this when I was with Annabeth,” he said before she left.

“You’re right, I didn’t,” said Sally, pausing in the doorway to look back at him. “But Annabeth was… well, she’s more mature than you. You’re older than Nico, and, given what you’ve told me about him, I think you’ll be taking the lead, romantically speaking. Also, I don’t know how well any of the health classes you’ve taken addressed homosexuality, much less anal sex, or safe sexual practices for gay people in general.”

“Mom,” Percy groaned. “You’re saying sex  _way_ too much.”

“You do know that I’ve had sex before, right?” said Sally, her eyes twinkling with borderline sadistic glee. “I had sex to make you for one."

“Mo-ooooooom!” Percy whined while burying his face in a pillow. He was certain her continued use of the word sex had to qualify as cruel and unusual punishment. She finally left, laughing all the way because she was an evil, horrible person who loved to see Percy suffer.

He loved her with every fiber of his being.

Percy sat up and glanced, not quite by chance, down at The Book. He didn’t even want to touch it, let alone look at it, but he lifted it up all the same.

The words “Gay” and “Sex” and the nearly naked man smiling coyly up at Percy pit his aroused curiosity directly against his embarrassment. The curiosity won out, although not enough for Percy to actually look inside the plastic bag of sexual paraphernalia.

Actually, a lot of it didn’t seem very sexual, or at least not very sexy. His mom was right, at some point he’d have to figure this stuff out, not just for him, but also for Nico. Percy actually had no idea what the state of Nico’s sexual education was, he’d wager it was pretty minimal.

Away it all went, except the lube (and condoms). His mom must have gone shopping this morning—oh that hurt to think about—and picked out a variety to let him find which ones he preferred.

There was a sticky note taped on the largest bottle of lube, the one with a pump handle. The note read: _stop stealing my hand lotion, love Mom_.

It took everything Percy had to keep his brain from leaking out of his ears. He finished putting everything away and checked the time. At least that conversation from hell had taken up some time, sitting around waiting had never been one of Percy’s strong suits.

Percy hadn’t seen any of his friends since Jason and Nico went back to Camp Half-Blood. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. He and Rachel had grabbed coffee at some funky little cafe in Chelsea, but Rachel still had school to attend. Though she’d taught herself how to read braille a long time ago, adjusting to actually being blind was still hard.

Destiny never let anyone go unscathed, as Percy knew all too well.

At any rate, his friends were all busy-busy-busy, and Percy _had_ said that he wanted to spend some time with his mom. But he’d barely made it a week at home before he’d started getting antsy. And lonely. 

Percy was used to having his friends around to watch his back, and even though he knew he was safe at home with Annabeth’s owls patrolling everywhere, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being vulnerable. He jumped at little, unexpected noises and his nights were restless, full of dark memories he didn’t want to dwell on.

Also, his mom had been dropping hints she didn’t want him going back to Camp Half-Blood, or even New Rome. She wanted him to stay in the city and go to school at Goode. Acting like he felt fine, so she didn’t throw down an ultimatum, sapped his energy.

This peculiar exhaustion warred with the thrumming energy that itched under his skin. He needed something to do, something to put his energy into. He kept jumping at little noises during the night, and he had trouble sleeping unless he physically exhausted himself. Maybe it was time to go back to camp? He wasn’t sure. Because on top of his mom hinting she didn’t want him to go, the idea of leaving was also exhausting. Percy didn’t know how much he wanted to go back, and how much he felt he had to go back.

Something was tapping on his window. A massive gray owl had landed on the fire escape outside of his room. It clutched a parcel with its talons, and its gray eyes gleamed like polished silver.

Percy opened the window. “Whatcha got there, buddy? I’m all out of Galleons and Sickles, but I can probably hook you up with some lunchmeat.“

The owl looked at him balefully and took off, leaving the parcel behind.

“Don’t think I won’t file a complaint with customer service!” Percy called after the owl. The owl ignored him, as though it knew there was no way Percy would complain to Annabeth about anything trivial. At least not right now.

Puzzled over what it could be, Percy picked up the parcel. It immediately began ringing, a peppy little electronic melody. Percy cheerfully ripped the packaging apart and pulled out a phone. It was made of clean white plastic and celestial bronze and on the back was a tiny stylized trident, like his own personal logo. It was also still ringing. Percy turned it over to look at who was calling.

It was Annabeth. Oh boy. He sat back down on his bed.

“Hello?” he said. They hadn’t spoken much since Percy went home and everyone else went back to camp or stayed on Olympus. “Annabeth?”

“Hello, Percy.” Annabeth’s voice called up a wealth of feelings for Percy.

He’d missed her so much. More than once he’d made a note ask her opinion on something only to remember they were broken up.

“Good, you got your phone. I took the liberty of setting up your contact info, but if you want to use a different picture the phone has a great camera. Leo really outdid himself on this one. All the apps are dyslexia friendly, and the phone itself is monster-proofed so that you can text freely. But don’t ever call someone and talk to them unless you know you’re both in a monster-proof location. Same for video chat. Leo is working on a prism fitting for Iris Messages, but we’re not there yet.”

“Uh, cool,” said Percy, flopping onto his back. Annabeth’s sharp, clipped tone had him on edge. “So… how are you doing?”

“Busy,” she said flatly. “Between keeping the Hindu gods happy, taking care of the Olympians’ duties, and micromanaging Leo, so he doesn’t blow us all up, I’m running out of hours in the day. If it weren’t for Reyna and Frank making sure the Romans cooperated, I wouldn’t even have time to talk to you. How… how are you doing?”

Percy almost sighed in relief. Annabeth acting like they hadn’t broken up was confusing, and hurtful, like what they had didn’t matter now that it was over. Percy had honestly thought he would marry this girl and spend the rest of his life with her. Sometimes the pictures still crept back into his head.

“I’m doing okay. My mom is kind of freaked out still. She says hi, by the way.”

“Tell her I say hi, too.”

“I will.”

The silence quickly grew awkward.

“I miss you,” Percy blurted out.

“Well, it’s not like you can’t come up here,” Annabeth told him. Percy scowled at the ceiling. This was what pissed him off when she acted like nothing was the matter with them, that nothing was different. “Maybe you and Nico can come up when Piper and Jason do.”

“That wouldn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“Why would it make me uncomfortable?” Percy made a noise of frustration. “I’m sorry, Percy, I know this is a big deal for you, but I’m really okay. You should just focus on yourself right now.”

It was that vaguely patronizing tone, the one his friends all seemed to develop when they thought he was acting immature. That was the tone he hated most of all.

“I have to go, Leo keeps tinkering with— _put it down, Valdez_ —I swear he’s gonna kill us all before the Trimurti do. We’ll talk later, okay?’

“Yeah, sure,” said Percy. His heart clearly wasn’t in it, but Annabeth took him at his word. She hung up.

Percy held the phone up and began to investigate it. He figured at least now he had a distraction until everyone arrived. It was pretty intuitive, and to Percy’s delight it really was dyslexic friendly—although that only went so far. Still easier to use than most anything he had tried before. There were even a couple of keyboards he could cycle through if he wanted, and a variety of fonts to go with them.

“Hey, mom, what’s your phone number?” he shouted at the open door. “I can text now!”

“Don’t yell at me, come out here and talk to me,” she shouted back. Percy grunted and grudgingly rolled his body out of bed. Maybe knowing he had a cell phone would ease some of her anxiety about leaving for the weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

New York – Queens

_Only love is so precious that you can never have too much_

Nico

If Jason kept smiling at Nico like that, he was going to get a boot to his face. Piper had the decency to at least cover her mouth and pretend she wasn’t laughing.

“It’s totally okay, Nico, just do it,” Jason was saying. “I mean it’s _Percy_. You don’t need to send him a freaking sonnet, just say hey.”

“Fine,” Nico grumbled. These new phones were kind of cool, he had to admit, but they also created problems. For example: how exactly should Nico word a text to Percy. The last time they’d spoken was an Iris message a few days ago when they were planning this weekend.

Now they were in a large black car being driven by Jules-Albert to Percy’s home in Manhattan. And Nico couldn’t come up with a message to send Percy.

“Maybe I should just call him,” said Nico after a minute of staring at his phone. The keyboard leered up at him, taunting him with his inability to conjure a simple greeting. How did he tell Percy that he missed him, but not too much, because he didn’t want to seem desperate or clingy?

“If that feels easier,” said Jason. “He’s not going to care. He’ll just be happy to hear from you.”

Nico wasn’t so sure about that. Time apart from Percy meant time to start doubting himself, doubting that Percy would ever want him, even if he did like boys. What if Nico said the wrong thing and messed it all up? Nico wasn’t so optimistic as to think he’d get a second chance at Percy. He could barely believe he’d gotten a chance at all.

“Tell him where we are,” suggested Piper. “A status update is a pretty safe way to break the ice.”

“Okay—where are we?” asked Nico.

“Pretty sure we just hit Queens,” said Piper after a moment spent peering out the window.

“You got this, Nico,” said Jason, so earnest that Nico decided not to elbow him. Nico very much enjoyed not feeling alone, feeling instead like he had friends and family who loved him, but sometimes it was hard. He’d spent a long time being by himself, being self-sufficient. He was used to solitude and people lying to him, using him. Accepting help from others, or encouragement, still felt unnatural, like there was a punchline to all of this and it would be at Nico’s expense.

_Hey Percy it’s Nico we’re in Queens see you soon!_

“Does this look okay?”

“It looks good, Nico, I say send it,” said Piper.

“You can do it, buddy,” Jason told him as he wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulders. Nico shrugged him off, and, taking a deep breath, hit send.

“Now comes the tough part,” said Piper. “You gotta put your phone away until he—“

Nico’s phone pinged.

_Awesome! I’m super excited to see you guys_

_Me too!_ Nico texted back. Some of the rules for texting made no sense to him, but if he had to put an exclamation point after every sentence, so he didn’t come off like a sarcastic ass, then he’d do it. Should he send something else? So far they just sounded like two friends talking.

His thumb hovered over the emoji icon, and he decided against it. None of them captured what he felt, no winking smile or red heart could contain the depth and breadth of his feelings for Percy. Sometimes it all seemed like a fantastic dream, and then he remembered it had been real.

It was still real. And it would stay that way unless he screwed everything up.

The ride to Percy’s seemed to take forever. All the unseasonably soon snow had snarled up traffic magnificently. The city was prepared for winter weather, but not only was the snow soon, it was also falling unusually heavily. It was warm in the car, so they had taken their jackets off. When Jules-Albert made the turn onto Percy’s block, they all started slipping them back on.

At least, the wind wasn’t a problem, thanks to Jason. The walk to Percy’s building was brisk but tolerable.

They all filed up the stairs and shook the snow off their boots before they walked inside.

“Hey, don’t look so worried,” said Jason, clapping his hand on Nico’s shoulder. “This is gonna be good.”

“I’m not worried,” said Nico. It was true; he wasn’t worried. Worried was far too small a word to encompass the anxiety and excitement currently crackling through his body. Nico felt like his stomach was full of burning butterflies, and he couldn’t decide if it was the worst feeling or the best.

When they reached Percy’s apartment number, Jason knocked. From inside they heard pounding footsteps and then a crash as something smacked into the door.

Nico was half reaching for his sword when Percy pulled the door open.

“Guys! You’re here! Come in, come in.” Percy and Jason traded one of those bro-hugs they were so fond of, and Piper got a big squeeze. Nico came in the door last, shutting it gently behind him, waiting to see how Percy would react to seeing him.

“Hey,” said Percy with a smile and in a low voice that Nico barely managed not to tremble at. “I’m glad you could make it.”

Percy hugged him, and Nico tried not to clutch at him too desperately. He would never get tired of this, of holding Percy and being held by him.

“Me too,” said Nico. He closed his eyes. “I missed you.”

“Well, you got me now,” said Percy, leaning back to look at him. They were smiling at each other like idiots until Nico noticed that Jason was snapping pictures of them with his phone.

“Sorry, I’m under orders from Hazel,” said Jason, but, at least, he put the phone away.

Percy’s hand came to rest on the nape of Nico’s neck, and he couldn’t entirely repress a shudder. Thankfully Jason and Piper were hanging their coats up, so only Percy noticed. Nico didn’t know whether to shrug Percy’s hand off in humiliation, or lean into it and admit that he wanted Percy so badly even the slightest touch could make him shiver.

Percy decided the matter for him. The touch became a little massaging motion, Percy’s thumb providing a bit more pressure than his fingers. Relaxation poured down Nico’s spine like warm molasses even as arousal crackled into being below his stomach. Nico wanted to lean back into Percy’s grip and hadn’t even realized he’d closed his eyes until he opened them.

“So, what’s the plan? I think going out might be… problematic,” said Piper with a look out the window. Percy kept absentmindedly rubbing Nico’s neck, making it difficult for him to concentrate.

“I can always keep the wind down,” said Jason. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is if we want to keep monsters from tracking us,” said Piper.

“Oh we don’t need to worry about that,” said Percy, his fingers never stopped massaging Nico’s neck. The only reason Nico hadn’t melted was because if he moved, Percy might stop. “Annabeth’s got Bubos all over the place, I don’t think I’ve seen a monster since I came home.”

“Bubos?” asked Nico, trying to contribute to the conversation, so he didn’t look like Percy had reduced his brain to a pile of mush.

“Owls. Trust me they’re everywhere, they see everything, and we’re totally safe.” Percy didn’t sound very enthused about this protection, but it let Nico cross safety off his list of current concerns.

One of the advantages of being a living god was freedom from the Mist’s restraints. Gods were limited in how they could manifest in the world, how much they could use their powers outside of their sacred roles. Living gods could move without the restriction of the Mist, which meant they could interfere more with the world. Unless they tapped too deeply into their parent’s power, then their mortal shell would burn out, or their blood would turn to ichor. Either way, they’d wind up dead.

But it was the freedom from a standard divine restriction that gave other pantheons pause, and the reason all the living gods were staying on Olympus. Well, one of the reasons.

Ravana and Enoch were still loose for another. Not to mention the usual cast of villains from Greek and Roman mythology. Although, at this point anything short of a Titan or giant attacking them would probably regret it. Between the four of them, they were a small army.

“And they’re all named Bubo?” asked Nico. Percy’s hand had stilled, which made it easier for him to form coherent thoughts.

“Actually, they’re all individually named,” said Piper dryly. “Percy’s making a movie reference. And, to be fair, Annabeth’s favorite one really is named Bubo.”

“Clash of the Titans, the classic version,” Percy told him. Percy’s fingers had started moving again, so Nico’s focus was completely shot once more. “We could totally watch it, just have a movie marathon tonight. Unless you guys have plans?”

Nico’s only plan was to be with Percy as much as possible. He couldn’t quite figure out a way to say that without sounding desperate, or clingy, so he stayed quiet.

“I think the only plan we have is popping by Olympus tomorrow to say hi,” said Piper, her kaleidoscope eyes flashing. Nico would guess she wanted to play it casually for everyone’s sake. Piper really was a nice person, and Nico was glad he was getting to know her. To know all of them, really. Even Annabeth, but if Percy was uncomfortable, then it was no question who Nico would choose.

Percy’s fingers stopped for a moment and then started up again.

“Yeah, Annabeth mentioned that when she invited Nico and me to stop by with you guys,” said Percy, an edge to his tone that pinged Nico’s concern.

“We can talk about tomorrow when tomorrow hits,” said Jason in his I-Was-A-Praetor voice. Nico didn’t much care for it, but neither did Percy, and trading commiserating looks with Percy was the literal best thing, so he let Jason off the hook. “Let’s focus on the now. If we’re gonna do a movie night what should we do for dinner?”

“Paul is gonna bring us food when he comes over to check that we haven’t burned down the apartment complex,” said Percy with a wry smile. “Or let any hell hounds loose in the kitchen.”

Nico snorted, and Percy’s fingers squeezed. The pressure drummed down Nico’s spine like his whole body focused solely on the place where Percy touched him.

“There’s a story behind that, isn’t there?” asked Piper wryly. “So if we’re thinking in the now, what should we watch?”

“Well, are we gonna start watching movies right now?” Jason asked. “We could still go somewhere.”

Going somewhere meant being out and around people. Nico wanted to be somewhere private, where he could touch Percy without fear of judgmental stares. It was hard enough feeling comfortable in front of Jason and Piper, and they were good friends.

“Where do you want to go?” asked Percy, and his fingers finally fell away from Nico’s neck. It felt like a bucket of cold water to the face; now he was awake and alert.

“I don’t want to go out in that,” said Nico gesturing to the ever-falling snow outside. “It’s getting dark, and it’s already too cold.”

“Then we’re staying in,” said Percy decisively. Nico hoped the warmth that surged in his chest wasn’t reflected on his face. He had to make this work, and not act like a fool.

Percy and Piper were in charge of movie selection, and they both decided on something fun but classic. The only problem was they couldn't quite agree on a definition of classic. Piper did not agree with Percy’s assessment of the Big Lebowski (the strange movie he’d shown Jason and Nico when they first brought him home) as a classic, and Percy disagreed right back at her. They had all taken up seats on the couch, and Nico was trying not to be too obvious about sitting as close to Percy was humanly possibly.

But then Piper started whispering to Percy, and they both looked at Nico, and that didn’t bode well at all.

“What?” he asked sharply.

Percy just smiled at him and looped an arm around his shoulders. Nico resisted for a second out of habit and then did his level best to burrow into Percy’s side. Percy was warm, solid, and smelled good, just an edge of salt to the homey smell of fresh laundry and the lemon-scented cleaner Sally preferred to use.

Nico missed Piper selecting the movie, caught up in cuddling with Percy.

“What were you two whispering about?” asked Nico as Piper painstakingly typed in the movie title, _Some Like it Hot_ , one letter at a time.

“I think you’ll like this movie,” said Percy. It wasn’t a very satisfying answer, but Percy had just kissed the tip of Nico’s ear and Nico was having trouble concentrating, again. All that changed when the movie started, or rather the music started.

Nico sat bolt upright when the music began, the horns and the drums calling back faded memories he’d thought long buried. Then the movie started, black and white and those cars, those clothes… It was a chase scene, gangsters shooting at each other in the dark. Nico gasped when he saw they were smuggling booze.

“When was this made?” Nico asked.

“The 60s, I think?” Percy tossed the question over to Piper.

“1959,” she said. “But the story takes place in 1929.”

“Oh! They’re in a speakeasy,” said Nico excitedly. He’d never been in one, of course, prohibition ended before they moved to America. But he had vague (they were always vague, like reflections echoing between fogged mirrors) memories of his mother scoffing about the news of America’s preoccupation with alcohol over a morning newspaper. He looked up at Percy, and his breath caught at the warmth in Percy’s gaze. Nico tilted his face up as Percy leaned down for a kiss that just skirted the boundaries of chaste.

If all of this was a dream, then Nico never wanted to wake up.


	4. Chapter 4

Manhattan – Percy’s Home

_Some truths loom larger in the dark_

Jason

Jason had a problem. To be fair, as far as problems went it was pretty mild. It was just… well, on the one hand, Jason liked seeing his friends happy, and he really liked seeing Nico happy in particular. The kid deserved some happiness. They all did.

On the other hand, there was only so much PDA he could take.

Nico and Percy were deep in the honeymoon portion of their relationship, and probably would be for the foreseeable future. So the cuddling, the little whispers, the constant kissing and touching, Jason could tell he had a lot of that ahead of him. He didn’t begrudge them anything, but it was a little difficult to focus on Neo entering the Matrix when Nico wouldn’t stop giggling at whatever Percy was whispering to him.

Also, Piper had fallen asleep on the arm of the couch, so Jason was effectively a third wheel again. Jason had thought Percy and Annabeth were bad, but Percy and Nico were shaping up to be so, so much worse.

“It’s kind of like…” Percy descended back to whispering in Nico’s ear.

Sometimes Jason forgot just how much history the two of them had. Of course, thanks to Juno’s, or rather Hera’s, meddling he had two sets of memories jockeying for position in his head, and that meant neither of them was very clear. Sometimes Jason felt like his life stretched back just to the bus and the outdoor school, the point at which he began to remember things clearly.

He wondered if that wasn’t by design, that Juno knew if she replaced his old life with false memories she could change him. All she had to do was erase his old self.

Jason Grace, praetor of Camp Jupiter, was dead.

Jason Grace, son of Zeus, wasn’t real.

Who was he?

The question gnawed at him and made it impossible to talk to either Reyna or Thalia about their history—or anything. The Jason they knew was gone. How could he connect with them if he wasn’t even real anymore? It would only hurt them in the long run.

So he stayed with Piper, and the Greeks, because he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be the old Jason again. Not that he could be he could have tried.

Juno had changed him, and he wasn’t sure he could change back.

On screen bullets were flying everywhere, but Jason couldn’t even bring himself to care. They’d finished Some Like It Hot, which Nico had enjoyed a lot, just like Piper had thought, and moved on to The Matrix. Except with Piper asleep, and Nico and Percy occupied with each other more than the movie, it was really just Jason, and he’d seen it before.

“I’m gonna get some more food,” said Jason to no one in particular, since nobody was paying attention to him.

Paul had brought over cartons and cartons of takeaway Chinese and then secluded himself in Sally’s room to grade papers. Jason grabbed an egg roll and nibbled on it while he made up a second plate of food. He looked up to see Percy come into the kitchen.

“Great minds really do think alike,” said Jason as Percy started piling Lo Mein onto his plate.

“Okay, but I’m thinking with my stomach,” said Percy. “So how does that work—great stomachs think alike?” Percy had piled four egg rolls onto his plate.

“You a big fan of egg rolls?” asked Jason.

“Nico wanted some too.” Percy paused. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, bro,” said Jason. He had a feeling he knew what this question would be about. “Lay it on me.”

“Do you think I should come with you guys? To Olympus?”

“Well, if Annabeth’s fine with it, why not?”

“Because I don’t think she’s really fine with it!” Percy looked over his shoulder but decided he’d been quiet enough to keep talking. “Annabeth does this thing where she thinks because she shouldn’t feel a certain way, she ignores how she really feels.”

“And you think she’s doing that with your break up?” asked Jason. Piper had said something similar to him after one of her long talks with Annabeth.

“I mean I’m like pretty sure she is,” said Percy. “What do you think?”

“I think… that it doesn’t matter what you think she means. You gotta take people at their word, so I think whether you go or not shouldn’t be about Annabeth, it should be about you. Do you feel okay seeing her tomorrow?”

Percy half-shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean, I miss her, a lot. But… It bugs me when she acts like nothing happened, and then she acts like I’m the one who’s being weird.”

“It’s a breakup, Percy, there’s gonna be weirdness,” said Jason. “You just have to, you know, let the weirdness roll over you.” He was paraphrasing something Piper had told him she said once to Annabeth. Apparently he’d mangled it because Percy was looking at Jason like he was drunk. “Okay, how about this: yes, come with us. If it’s awkward, then you can just leave.”

Percy chewed his lip for a moment and then sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that makes the most sense. Thanks, dude.”

“Anytime, man.” Jason clapped Percy on the shoulder. “So… is Paul staying the night?”

“Yeah, I was figuring Piper could have the couch and you would use the air mattress in my room.”

Which meant Percy was going to be sharing a bed with Nico, again, and Jason was going to be in the room. At least Paul was there, which meant the open door rule would be in effect. Of course if Paul hadn’t been there Jason wouldn’t have been sleeping on the floor of Percy’s room to begin with.

To be honest he’d been kind of hoping for Paul’s presence to be minimal, he and Piper didn’t get much privacy at Camp Half Blood.

“Percy, I can’t get your ice maker to work,” said Jason, pushing ineffectually at the ice button on Percy’s refrigerator.

“Yeah, it’s busted, here,” said Percy, and he opened the door before Jason pulled back and cold water drenched Jason’s shirt. “Oh, dude, I am so sorry.”

"It’s fine.” Jason stripped his shirt off and used a kitchen towel to mop up his stomach, trying not to feel grumpy.

“No, let me,” said Percy and clapped his hand onto Jason’s shoulder. The water jumped off Jason, like he had just insulted it somehow. “Shirt too.”

Jason gave Percy the shirt and tossed the towel on the counter. When he turned back Percy was holding out his shirt, and to Jason’s immense amusement his eyes were lingering on Jason’s chest, down to his hips and back again.

“Did you just check me out?”

Percy blushed red like a Christmas light. “No!”

He bent down hurriedly to mop up the floor, refusing to meet Jason’s eyes. Given that the water sucked itself up into the towel, Percy was giving it a great deal more attention than it required.

“Oh man, you totally did.” Jason wasn’t sure what to do with the rush of pleasure and confidence that gave him. Aside from needling Percy, of course.

“Okay, fine, what if I did?” Percy stood up. He was red-faced and didn’t look happy. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“Obviously not,” said Jason, gesturing toward the room where the movie was playing. “Still… it’s pretty flattering. You’re a good looking guy.”

“You really think so?” Percy tried to look at his reflection in the window.

“You’re joking, right?” asked Jason as he refilled his cup with water. When he looked up he saw Percy wasn’t joking. “You’re freaking gorgeous, dude.”

“Gorgeous?” asked Percy with a little laugh.

“Oh, whatever, you big homo,” said Jason, bumping Percy with his shoulder. Percy bumped back. “You know there’s a reason girls and boys have been tripping over you for years.”

Percy paused, and then said lightly, “I guess I’m pretty stupid too, not to have noticed.”

Jason had a feeling he’d just stepped into something on accident. He didn’t get a chance to ask what it was because Nico was coming into the kitchen.

“You guys have been gone for a while,” he said. He took one of the egg rolls Percy had piled on his plate. “I paused the movie.”

“Sorry. There was an Incident with the ice maker,” said Percy. And maybe, Jason thought to himself, he’d been uncharitable earlier when thinking about the two of them.

Nico still held back from Percy, no matter how much he plainly wanted to go to him, to touch him. He waited for Percy’s approval each time as if in fear each time would be the last, that this would be the time that Percy finally rebuffed him. Nico was perpetually prepared for pain and disappointment, and Jason was going to try harder not to begrudge him for reveling in something that made him happy.

Because Percy really did make Nico happy. And judging by the sheepish smiles they were trading as they made cow-eyes at each other, Nico made Percy happy too.

They went back to watch the rest of the movie. Jason woke Piper up, so she didn’t strain her neck with how she was sleeping. Watching the Matrix transitioned into watching Zoolander (by then Piper had completely relinquished quality control to Percy) and at some point Paul came out to tidy up a bit and check in with them.

Paul seemed like a nice guy, and Percy definitely liked him, but Jason wasn’t used to having adults around who acted like… well, responsible adults. Mortal ones, at any rate. Paul kept poking his head in, checking on them and being parental. He obviously cared about Percy, and by extension Percy’s friends. It raised uncomfortable feelings for Jason, irritation and more than a bit of longing.

Eventually, stuffed with Chinese takeaway, they declared the movie night over and time for bed. Percy’s mom had inflated Jason’s mattress earlier and even made it up with sheets. More responsible adult stuff. Jason didn’t care for the longing feeling it woke in him. In all of his many memories and fragments of memories, he’d never had what Percy had, adults in his life who supported him, who _wanted to_  support him.

Sleeping in a real home, not in a barracks or a lonely camp cabin but in a _real_ _home_ , felt good—bittersweet, but good.

He fluffed his pillow, said good night to Percy and Nico, and laid down. Percy and Nico whispered to each other for a couple of minutes, and then went quiet. In the cozy darkness of Percy’s room with the door opened to the rest of the apartment, Jason felt confident he’d get a good night’s sleep.

 

* * *

 

Jason woke up suddenly.

Someone was breathing hard, the kind of intense gasps that came after a sprint, or a nightmare. Jason reflexively took stock, years of training and experience letting him catapult fully into consciousness ready for combat.

He was on the floor, on an air mattress. The door to the room was open, and dawn-light trickled in from the blinds. Jason was under a sheet and a blanket and had two pillows mushed together under his head. He was in Percy’s room, with Percy and Nico sleeping in Percy’s bed right in front of him.

“Mmnn—Nico?” Percy’s voice was thick with sleep from his bed. “You ‘kay?”

There was a pause. Jason held his breath.

“Sorry,” Nico finally whispered. “I’m fine. Just… go back to sleep, Percy.”

Jason wondered if he should pipe up. They’d all dealt with bad dreams at one time or another. It was nothing to be ashamed about.

“C’mere.” There was a great rustling in the blankets on Percy’s bed. Jason relaxed, they were going to snuggle back to sleep, and it would all be fine. There were soft noises coming from Percy’s bed, little whispers and kisses. Percy could comfort Nico in ways Jason couldn’t.

Jason let himself fade back out into sleep.

Until one of them gasped—it sounded like Nico, and Jason was suddenly wide awake again. The kissing noises had gotten more insistent, wetter. Jason raised his head to look, and he could see Percy on top of Nico, moving purposefully.

Apparently an open door was only so much of a deterrent if you thought everyone else was asleep.

Jason wasn’t sure which was worse, the inherent embarrassment of the situation, or the fact that his dick was now hard as a rock. He coughed, once, trying to play it off like the noise was waking him up. The movement from the bed stilled, and then there were some more whispers before finally silence.

It took Jason longer to drift off this time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a long chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for all the lovely comments!

Manhattan – The Empire State Building  

 _There are no dualities or symmetries. There is only perspective_  

Percy

So last night had been a bit embarrassing. Not the bit where Jason had obviously been awake, but the bit where Percy apparently had absolutely zero self-control. It wasn’t like he hadn’t slept beside Annabeth before without managing to molest her! Not that it had been one-sided or anything, Nico had been more than receptive to Percy’s advances.

Times like this the idea of being gay seemed to lag before it surged to the forefront of his thoughts. Sleeping next to Annabeth was easier because he didn’t want to bang Annabeth so hard she rang like a bell. He loved her, but he’d never felt a burning desires to get naked with her. Nico on the other hand…

He’d been so soft and pliant in Percy’s arms, so loving and warm. The little comforting kisses Percy peppered across Nico’s face had become slower, and deeper. Percy’s mouth lingered on Nico’s, and Nico had been the one to make a little noise that drove Percy over the edge.

Nico would have let him too, Nico, who had wrapped his arms around Percy’s neck and whimpered as Percy pressed down with his hips. Nico, who even after Jason had coughed at them, stayed curled up in Percy’s arms, clinging close and letting Percy chase his bad dreams away.

Nico who loved Percy so much it scared Percy with how easy all of this was. Annabeth had made him work for their relationship, to earn her attention, her respect, and then her admiration. Nico gave him those things freely, with seemingly no expectations in return, just a powerful yearning for love.

Part of Percy’s fear of moving fast came from the fact that he kept wanting to move fast. Like really fast, like he was thinking about sex _all the freaking time now_. He’d “enjoyed” three wet dreams in the weeks since coming home, not to mention jerking off every chance he got.

There was a reason his mom had noticed her hand lotion disappearing.

(He shuddered at the memory of her confronting him, even indirectly, over that.)

Being told that Nico loved him was one thing. Actually knowing how much Nico loved him was another entirely. If Percy went too fast, then Nico would let him, and that intimidated Percy in ways he didn't quite have words for yet.

Sometimes Percy felt almost afraid of how much Nico loved him, how much he believed in him. And Percy knew it was just a matter of time before he'd make a misstep, or show Nico that he wasn’t as good as Nico thought he was. He’d already failed Nico so many times…

Also, Percy was kind of scared about the other thing, as in what it all meant for his future.

So, he was gay, right? He’d managed to get the idea in his head, mostly because he’d accepted his body’s very clear statement about his preferences. Except it didn’t sit easily in his head, he didn’t _feel_ gay. His thoughts of the future still reflexively centered around a wife, if not Annabeth, then some formless concept of wife-ness to go with his future children, baby demigod legacies running around the manicured lawn of a house with a white picket fence. He’d tried to picture a man in there, even Nico, and it just didn’t work.

It upset him to think about it, and he stared at his feet as he walked over the icy concrete.

“Are you okay?” asked Nico, bumped Percy with his shoulder.

They were walking to the Empire State Building, Jason, and Piper in front of them so Jason could break up the wind coming at them. The weather was still wintering at full blast, and the air was a creeping, insidiously frigid force always pressing down on them.

“Yeah, just thinking,” said Percy. “So, if we wind up bailing early, do you have any things you want to do?”

Nico shrugged, a quintessential teenage indication of easy-going apathy. “I don’t care. Just… something indoors.”

“I’m with you there,” said Percy. Maybe curled up watching movies with hot chocolate. Just the two of them. Alone, snuggled on the couch, with no one around.

As much privacy as anyone could want, to do _anything_ they wanted.

Percy took an odd step and made a swift adjustment in his pants with the ease of much practice. Much less noticeable than, say, running out of a room crouched over because your boxers hid nothing and you’d been thinking about how one of your best bros had just been jerking off in the shower.

Jason had seemingly never put the pieces of that together, something for which Percy was eternally thankful.

“At least Olympus will be warm,” said Nico, who hadn’t noticed Percy’s struggle. His bony shoulders were bunched up and he was clearly suffering in the cold. Even the ever present hawkers around the Empire State Building had cleared out from the horrendous weather.

They got to warmth before they reached Olympus, when they entered the lobby it was virtually toasty. Once inside Percy loosened his scarf and sighed as he unzipped his jacket. Security had been raised since Ravana and Enoch made their power grab. Men and women in imposing dark uniforms wearing dark glasses stood at regular intervals. Something about the way they stood so perfectly still, almost like statues, told Percy they probably weren’t human.

The ride up was quiet, but not awkward. They all knew each other too well, had been through too much together, for that. Though Percy did drop an absentminded kiss on Nico’s temple just to see him squirm and flush. Little acts of affection drew big reactions out of Nico (so different from Annabeth) and Percy was on a mission to see them all.

Olympus was warm and sunny, a distinct contrast with the wintry weather of New York. Birdsong floated beside a breeze just cool enough to offset the strong rays of the sun. It was peaceful and beautiful, and Percy felt better just breathing the sweet air.

The feeling didn’t last long.

“Well, well, well,” drawled Clarisse. She was leaning against a pillar, and Percy didn’t know if she’d been there the whole time or just popped in with her new powers. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“I don’t think a cat would get along with all the owls,” said Percy. There were owls in Olympus just like New York, tiny gray sentinels dotting the gleaming towers and golden spires. They were everywhere, and they were watching.

“Hah! They’re pretty creepy, aren’t they?” Clarisse laughed. It wasn’t a very nice laugh. “Better be on your best behavior, cradle-robber.”

“Hey!” Percy and Nico protested at the same time.

“Let’s not fight, guys, the others are waiting for us,” said Piper, her sweet voice instantly mellowing the tension. Even Clarisse was looking docile now, although Percy knew better than to trust her to stay calm.

“Fine,” said Clarisse with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll let you losers go.” Before Percy could come up with a retort she vanished in a haze of blood red light.

Nico glowered especially hard at the spot where she’d just been standing.

“Hey.” Percy nudged Nico as they started walking again. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” said Nico. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“By what?” asked Percy.

Nico’s shoulders were nearly bunched up by his ears. “That people disapprove.”

“Nah, I think that was just Clarisse being Clarisse,” said Percy after a moment. “You know how she is, she didn’t mean anything by it—at least not like that.”

Nico seemed to relax at that, at least a little.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Jason called back to them. Apparently he’d decided they were falling behind.

Percy blew a raspberry at him while Nico’s cheeks pinked right up and he scowled at the floor. When Jason turned back around Percy moved closer to Nico, nudging him with an elbow, offering him a commiserating grin.

The heartbreakingly shy smile Nico shot Percy in return more than made up for whatever Clarisse might have said.

Every time Percy thought he had a grip on Nico’s feelings he saw something else, something more. It felt like Nico’s love was as deep and endless as the ocean, and he only caught small flashes of it every time he dove in. The shy, longing glances, the blushes, the fluttering of Nico’s hands until he shoved them in his pockets, the hunching and side-stepping, the little hitch of breath every time Percy touched him…

It hadn’t been like this with Annabeth. Annabeth had loved him, and he’d loved her, but… Nico drank up Percy’s affection like parched soil drank the rain, or like a man dying of thirst drank his last sip of water. It was intoxicating for Percy to provoke such reactions, filled him with an implacable warmth that he could do this for Nico, make him so happy that he couldn’t keep it quiet.

Percy drifted even closer to Nico, brushing their hands together. Nico’s breath hitched and his fingers slid between Percy’s. His skin was cool and Percy slid his hand around to properly hold Nico’s.

The tiny, bashful hiccup of laughter Nico let out from sheer delight was one of the best things ever, as far as Percy was concerned. The exasperated call from Jason to hurry up was just icing on the cake.

 

* * *

 

Annabeth and Leo were running late. No one was really surprised, they all knew that of the living gods Annabeth and Leo were doing the hardest work. Not the most dangerous, at least for the most part, but definitely the most challenging.

Crafting new thrones for the gods took precedence over everything else. Until the gods were restored to their thrones and reincarnated, the threat of the Trimurti hung over Olympus. Hestia had everyone running around preparing for the return of the gods.

Maybe then he could ask Poseidon why he’d rejected him. It still hurt even if it wasn’t the open wound of the day it happened. Some good had come out of it apparently, although he was channeling Poseidon’s Greek aspect, Frank was still a Roman, and a Praetor at that. Since that meant Camp Jupiter got their five roman gods and a bonus representative, Annabeth was able to wrangle some extra concessions in the treaty she and Reyna were working up.

Frank had been skittish around Percy until Percy had told him to cut it out. He wasn’t mad at Frank., he wasn’t even sure he could be mad at Frank. Frank was a truly good guy. Percy wasn’t even mad at Poseidon (well, not mostly) just hurt and confused. Had his dad been lying all those times he said Percy was his favorite, that he loved him? He’d always known that his relationship to his dad was much more than most demigods ever got, and he thought it meant something.

They were sitting in the shade of a gazebo overlooking a flower garden. A shallow reflecting pool lay at the center. It was purely decorative, there were no fish or anything in it. Percy still kind of wanted to go dip his feet in it. On the other hand his seat was really comfortable and getting up seemed like a lot of effort.

A hand gently touched his shoulder. Percy looked up to see Nico standing next to him, looking uncertain.

“You okay?” asked Nico.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Percy, waving his thoughts away with his hand. “Just thinking.”

“Okay.” Nico’s hand dropped from his shoulder. He didn’t sit down, though, just shifted his weight from side to side. He looked like he wanted something and didn’t know how to ask or was afraid to ask for it.

So Percy clapped a hand to Nico’s hip and nudged him around from standing at the side of Percy’s chair to sitting on Percy’s lap. Nico was clearly hesitant, but Percy didn’t push so much as guide, leaving it up to Nico if he wanted to move.

All the same it all very nearly ended in tears when Nico stumbled halfway there—out of nerves Percy figured—but in the end Percy wound up with a lapful of only somewhat-stunned di Angelo.

“Hey,” said Percy in a low voice. Nico was tense and wasn’t looking at their friends; Percy wondered if maybe he’d overshot this time.

He started rubbing Nico’s back, gentle circles in the soft cotton of Nico’s t-shirt. Like magic the tension drained from Nico’s posture and when Percy murmured to him asking if he wanted to get more comfortable he even sat back further in Percy’s lap. Percy looped his free arm around Nico’s waist and pressed a kiss to Nico’s shoulder, staring up at him the whole time.

Nico looked like he was about to expire from blushing, but all Percy could see was that little smile he was growing so fond of.

“Have they been like this all weekend?” asked Frank, sounding torn between laughter and disgust.

“Yes,” said Jason and Piper in stereo. Percy stuck out his tongue at them while Nico groaned and pressed his face into the crook of Percy’s neck. He was still smiling; though only Percy could see.

Nico had a really nice smile, Percy had decided, and he liked seeing it, just as he liked the fact that he could make Nico smile like this.

“Well, I think you two are adorable,” said Hazel, her golden eyes glinting with fondness. Percy bounced his knee under Nico and was rewarded with a stern glare for his efforts.

"You hear that? We’re adorable,” said Percy. Nico grumbled and glowered at Jason who was doing a poor job of hiding his snickers. “Ignore Jason, he’s just trying to cover up how much he misses our threesome.”

“Your _what_?” Frank squawked. Jason sighed dramatically at Percy, and Nico gave him a reproachful look too. Piper coughed into her fist, losing her battle against a smile, and Hazel’s cheeks were even darker than usual.

"It was after we escaped Briares,” Nico explained.

“Yeah,” Percy took up telling the story. “We got caught in this hail storm and had to hunker down in this little cave Nico made, and there was some--what did you call it, Jason... oh, yeah--manly cuddling for warmth.”

“You both took your shirts off,” said Nico sourly. “And then pinned me between you.”

“Oh my,” said Hazel, fanning her face.

“Not like that!” Nico exclaimed, nearly rising out of Percy’s lap in horror. Piper had two hands over her mouth to keep from laughing.

“Like what?” asked Hazel and Percy bit his tongue hard to keep quiet. Nico’s mouth worked silently as he looked for something to say that wouldn’t scandalize his sister.

Nico’s mouth worked silently as he looked for something to say that wouldn’t scandalize his sister.

“And I think that’s my cue,” said Annabeth, stepping out of thin air next to Percy. She had a clipboard cradled in one arm and a gray owl on her shoulder. “Would you guys mind coming through to the workshop? Leo and I still have a little more work to do and Apollo keeps getting in the way so it’s taking forever.”

Percy had frozen the moment Annabeth appeared. He stared at her, his mouth slightly open. “You cut your hair.”

"I did,” said Annabeth easily. Her long blonde locks had been chopped back to a pixie cut. “It keeps it out of the owls’ way.”

The owl on her shoulder gave Percy a half-lidded look of mild disdain.

“You…” Percy swallowed. “It looks good.” Nico was standing up, along with everyone else, and Percy’s lap felt cold.

“Thank you,” said Annabeth with a little bow of her head. “Hazel, would you mind?”

“Not at all,” said Hazel as the shadows grew long around her. On her head, a black diadem that Percy could have sworn hadn’t been there a moment ago flashed. Unlike the last time he’d seen the Helm of Darkness, there was no aura of fear, no terror gripping his heart or panic to bow his head. The shadows curled around them, which was still a pretty unpleasant feeling, and a moment later they were in Hephaestus’s Olympian workshop.

The workshop was a huge vaulted room with several large forges and one grand forge that dominated the room. The room was big enough to contain massive half finished automatons, vehicles, and other things Percy couldn’t even begin to identify. Around the grand forger were thirteen marble monoliths that were the new thrones under construction. Hazel had brought them to an open space in front of one of the lesser forges, where Leo sat at a large work table fiddling with an odd looking musical contraption. Small scorpion-like automatons crawled over his desk, bringing him tools and materials and scuttling away with the scraps.

Standing just behind Leo, tapping his foot impatiently, was Apollo.

“Are you done yet?” asked Apollo. 

“Not yet, Lord Apollo,” Leo said tightly. The scorpion offering Leo a small brass gear glowered at Apollo, who didn’t seem to notice.

Percy got the distinct feeling this wasn’t the first time Apollo had asked that particular question.

Apollo made a noise of disgust and turned around to stomp off. Leo didn’t look up from his work, but he did relax once Apollo was out of view. Several of the scorpions took off after him.

“Hey, guys,” he said, waving without turning around. “Be with you in a minute—Annabeth, can you do the thing for those?”

He gestured over his shoulder with his wrench, and Percy had no idea what he was indicating. Annabeth just snapped her fingers and—oh, there. Leo had been pointing at a large table covered in what had looked like spare parts, but now Percy could see were more scorpion servants. Apparently Annabeth was giving them their get up and go.

“Thank you, thank you—oh damn it.” Leo cursed and the fire in the forges flared. Hot air billowed into the room like a midsummer wind coming off the sunbaked desert, then followed by a freezing cold. “Ugh, compressor’s on the fritz, again. Annabeth?”

“I’ll put in a request with Reyna for a bulk shipment.”

Another sentence with an unsaid word at the end that Annabeth understood anyway. Percy felt a spike of irritation and jealousy, mostly directed at Leo.

“What are you working on?” asked Piper leaning over Leo’s shoulder.

“The Valdezinator,” he told them. “Indra busted it up when he tried to play it.”

“He’s not even a god of music!” Apollo reappeared just long enough to shout his complaint before vanishing down another aisle of half-finished projects to sulk.

“The Hindu gods are giving you guys trouble?” asked Jason. He had his Serious Business face on again.

“Indra’s been drunk on soma and ambrosia since he got here,” said Annabeth matter-of-factly. Percy had an ugly flashback to Gabe, who had never been without a beer in hand. “Agni has hidden himself somewhere in Olympus to meditate, and although I’m fairly certain Hestia knows where—“

“She totally does!” yelled Apollo from somewhere between the stacks.

“—She won’t tell us,” Annabeth went on. “And Varuna has decided in the absence of a proper Pantheon head that he’s in charge, so he’s constantly trying to micromanage everything.”

“And you can guess how much our gods appreciate being bossed around by a foreign god,” sighed Frank.

“The only thing they like less is being bossed around by demigods,” Leo added in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Leo, aren’t you done yet?” Apollo stumbled out of the stacks and groaned dramatically, slumping onto the end of Leo’s work table. Apollo tended to appear as a good looking boy around Percy’s age, maybe a little older. The way he was standing half-collapsed gave Percy a great view of his butt.

That was a thing, noticing boys.

He’d always known when guys were handsome, had even admired them. Oh, sure, he’d _say_ he never checked guys out, but now he wondered if he’d only been saying that to convince himself. Apollo was attractive, and the same vague horror that had struck him at home in the kitchen when he realized he was staring at Jason resurged.

He liked boys, and he noticed boys and not innocently at that, or at least there was no point in convincing himself it was innocent because he had a  _boyfriend_ and...

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

“Almost… there…” Something clicked, and the Valdezinator contracted, snapping back into its proper shape. “Done and done!”

“About time!” Apollo grabbed the Valdezinator.“I’m gonna be late to our jam session!” He took off running.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Leo called after Apollo left, but not too loudly. “Okay, I’ll be with you guys in a second, just gotta set this up…” Leo had started rummaging in a drawer and Percy was getting kind of bored. He wanted to pull Annabeth aside and talk to her, about them and about his mom, but she’d linked up with Piper and wasn’t letting him catch her eye. And her owl kept glowering at him.

“Lord Apollo has been something of a handful,” said Hazel. “Being powerless for a god is… well. And Lord Indra doesn’t make things easier.”

“Indra’s a warrior god and sky-father who once helmed an entire pantheon, got unseated, and now likes to jam out and get wasted everyday on divine booze,” said Leo without looking up from his latest tinkering device. It looked like one of their cellphones. Percy wondered if Leo had to assemble each one by hand. “He’s the godly equivalent of a washed up rock star. Hazel, can I get another diamond?”

A diamond the size of Percy’s fist popped out of the ground, cut into a pyramid. It reflected light like a prism. One of the larger scorpions scrambled over to grab the diamond and, staggering under its weight, waddled up to Leo’s desk.

“While I have Pluto’s power, I can override the curse,” explained Hazel as Leo fit the massive diamond into a socket. “Although, Leo’s probably immune to it now anyway.”

“So, how’s the prophecy research going?” asked Jason. He'd directed the question toward Frank, but Annabeth took it up.

“Slowly,” she said. “Because Lady Hestia doesn’t want us to actually do any research.”

“She says we have to go through the motions in the ‘proper order’,” said Leo, making little air quotes. “Annabeth and me think that’s pretty stupid.”

“To be fair, fighting fate rarely ends well,” said Frank, who sounded like he’d had to mediate this debate before.

“Fighting fate never ends well, but we’re not fighting,” said Annabeth insistently. Her tone and the glint in her eye that told Percy how strongly she felt about this. When Annabeth thought she was right, nothing stood in her way. “We know what the prophecy says and that the key to restoring the gods will be found in wisdom’s house. There is no point in rebuilding the thrones without the key!”

“Preach!” Leo raised his hammer in the air and then went back to whacking away at the gem setting.

“That sounds frustrating,” said Piper and Annabeth grinned ruefully.

“It always is. So, since we’re all together, who’s up for some lunch?”

 

* * *

 

Lunch was a picnic on a grassy knoll overlooking the clouds surrounding Olympus. A broad wooden table under a covered area held an array of sandwich fixings. Trays of sliced meat, cheese, vegetables, both fresh cut and roasted, thick crusty bread, and more mustards than Percy had ever seen in one place before. There were bowls of pickles, chips, and fruit salad. There were also goblets like those from the dining pavilion at Camp Half Blood.

They made up plates and sat on the grass. The air smelled sweet, the sun was warm but not overbearing, and all in all it was a perfect day.

Kind of weird to think it was practically a blizzard back in New York.

“Right, but the old rules don’t apply right now. Fate has been stained with tainted blood, remember?” Annabeth was saying insistently. The debate had continued over into lunch. “It _wants_ to be corrected and made right.”

“You talk about fate like it’s a living thing,” said Jason skeptically.

“We’ve met the Kindly Ones,” Percy told him.

“No, I mean… Fate, not _the_ Fates.” Jason waved his sandwich around. “The whole shebang.”

“Well,” Annabeth said slowly, twirling a finger in the grass. Her gray eyes were gleaming. “In many ways it’s not dissimilar to a living thing, it has behaviors and what we can call motivations, though it’s more complex than that.”

“The Axis is designed to be self-sustaining,” said Nico quietly.

“Exactly,” said Annabeth with an appreciative nod. She didn’t seem at all uncomfortable, and even though Percy knew Nico felt awkward he was still contributing.

Was it really supposed to be this easy? Everything else in his life was hard, so why should this be any different?

Annabeth was still talking. “In binding Yahweh’s godhead, or _animus_ , to the Axis Mundi the enchantment takes on certain living qualities, including an imperative to preserve itself. All systems tend towards equilibrium, and predestination is no different.”

“So prophecies are, what, exactly?” asked Percy. “Just the Mist trying to keep itself on an even keel?”

“Pretty much,” said Annabeth matter-of-factly. She met his eyes and his heart ached. “Which is why I really, truly cannot see the harm in hurrying the whole thing along.”

“But, Lady Hestia disagrees, so,” Leo said with a shrug and chased a bite of his sandwich with some nectar.

To keep their mortal bodies healthy the living gods periodically ate the food of the gods. Each of them were either drinking nectar or nibble on some ambrosia, although Hazel had some pear slices Percy hadn’t ever seen before that looked literally divine.

Percy tried not to think about Poseidon rejecting him. The hurt wasn’t fading, he was still confused and angry.

“Something Lady Hestia _did_ agree to, however, is this,” said Hazel taking off the Helm of Darkness. It reverted from the modest black diadem to its larger ornate form. “I can’t use it to go anywhere, so I asked if Nico can have it.”

“Wait, really?” asked Nico. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning being told there were even more presents to be opened. “And she said yes?”

“Yep,” said Hazel with great satisfaction. She passed the helm to Nico, who looked almost ecstatic.

“And Persephone doesn’t mind?” he asked. Percy smiled, he hadn’t seen Nico this pleased about anything since—well, actually, earlier that morning. Nico was happier, and Percy was part of that.

It felt good.

“She’s enjoying being a queen without a king too much to care,” Hazel said conspiratorially, hey eyes practically dancing with mirth.

“Yeah! Girl power!” Leo declared flamboyantly, punching the air. Piper promptly slugged him in the arm, and everyone laughed.

Percy watched Nico fuss over the Helm with Hazel, their heads bent together, dark hairs of wildly different texture blending together. An almost unbearable wave of affection coursed through him, so immense it fell into something like longing, even though they were both right there. Most of his closest friends were here, come to think of it, laughing and eating together and…

Moments like this were what he fought for. This was what made the struggle worth it.

Percy realized Annabeth was watching him. He raised an eyebrow at her. She tilted her head to the side.

An owl plopped onto his shoulder, making him squawk. He jumped and the owl flung out its wings to steady itself, glowering at Percy.

“Ha!” Leo and Jason were laughing at him.

“Dude, if you could have seen your face,” Jason said. He was laughing so hard his face flushed beet red.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny, Grace,” Percy said and then noticed another owl, coming in low and fast. He bit his lip as it shot right over Jason’s head, just low enough to drag its knuckles across his scalp.

Jason yelped and shot forward out of his chair, which would have been fine, but he went _up,_ as in flew into the air. Which entangled him with the owl.

Laughter immediately went to war with the sound of combined screeching from the owl tangled with Percy's favorite son of Zeus.

Percy’s owl tugged on his hair and then took off towards another grotto. While everyone laughed at Jason, including Percy, he stood up to walk over. When he rounded the row of trimmed trees and hedges, the owl he’d been following shimmered and transformed into Annabeth.

“Whoa!” Percy reared back. “Annabeth?”

“This is less disruptive than the two of us sneaking off,” she murmured.

“Right, but… isn’t this dangerous? Using your powers like this?”

“It’s not a particularly difficult trick. Our parents do it all the time.”

“Yeah, but they’re gods. They’re supposed to do that.”

“I’ve got it under control, Percy. I'm not the one with kelp for brains, after all.”

“Yeah, right.” One thing he hadn’t missed about Annabeth was how she made him feel stupid. She didn’t do it on purpose, she was a child of Athena and Percy knew he wasn’t very smart, but it still stung.

“So, uh, how are you doing?”

“Well, although that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Okay, so what’s up?”

“Do you know when you’ll be going back to camp?” asked Annabeth.

Percy shrugged. “I dunno. My mom’s trying to get me to go to Goode.”

“Well, when you do… I know you’ll be studying, but you’re also going out to look for Hermes' children, right?” Percy nodded, he hadn’t forgotten his promise and barring any major divine interventions (ha!) he planned to keep it. “Well, I have a favor to ask…”

           

* * *

 

Percy walked back out of the grotto deep in thought. What Annabeth had asked him was no small thing.

She wanted to defy fate. Although, to be fair, she’d gone to great lengths to make it clear she wasn’t _actually_ defying destiny, just trying to push it along. And, as Annabeth always did, she made a compelling case, enough to overcome Percy’s misgivings.

It was an old dynamic at this point. So when Annabeth told him she wanted him to continue to search for the House of Wisdom while he was out and about on quests, he'd resisted at first. 

Now Percy was no big fan of prophecies and predestination and all that, but he knew what happened if you played fast and loose with the rules: terrible, awful things. Things he would only wish on his worst and vilest enemies. The rules existed for reasons, and they were followed for more of the same.

But what Annabeth wanted, she got, and she wanted Percy to search for signs of prophecy. Directly disobeying not only the will of the fates, but Hestia’s explicit orders.

Everyone was where he’d left them, although Nico was the only one who stood up to greet him. Annabeth was still sitting in her chair, talking animatedly with Piper about something, no sign that she had been splitting her focus between two bodies in two separate locations.

Percy worried for her.

“Do you want to leave?” Percy didn’t exactly jump but he had kind of forgotten Nico was standing next to him. He immediately felt bad, especially since Nico was looking at him with such concern.

“I’ve got something I want to do first,” said Percy. He’d been putting this off, but it was time.

He was going to see Luke.

 

* * *

 

Luke was still asleep, tucked away on a cot in a light, airy room in one of the many towers that populated Olympus. They climbed the stairs in silence.

Percy wasn’t sure how he felt about Luke right now. After the war with the Titans Percy had only begun to deal with his grief, and his mom had been making noise about him seeing a therapist before he vanished and had his memory wiped.

Demigods were more durable than mortals, and more resilient when they were actually harmed, but sometimes Percy wondered how much of the looming rage he felt inside himself was because everything that had ever happened to him over the years was being pushed down and compressed.

Force enough anger and rage into a confined space and it made something harder than anger, diamonds of hate and cruelty.

Percy tried not to worry about it and kept cracking wise. Not like there was anything else to be done, really.

Even Nico, who had such faith in Percy, didn’t know the truth about him. Nico thought he wasn’t a mean person. He didn’t know.

Annabeth knew, and it had terrified her.

Percy would never let anyone who loved him be afraid of him again.

A placard on the wall told them which room was Luke’s. Percy pushed in the door and stepped inside.

It was a sunny little room, full of potted plants, many of them flowering. Luke lay in bed, tucked into the pristine white sheets of a small cot. He looked tired, even in sleep, but most of Percy’s attention was drawn to the person standing beside Luke, examining Luke’s vitals.

“Nico. Percy.” Will’s voice was flat, utterly devoid of emotion. The look in his eyes was the same. He gently lowered Luke’s wrist from where he’d been taking his pulse.

Beside Percy, Nico was stiff as a board.

“Will,” said Percy with a little nod. “How is he?”

“Still sleeping,” said Will. Some of his icy demeanor dropped as he went into doctor-mode. “Physically he’s fine. Actually, he’s better than fine, he’s probably the healthiest person I’ve ever examined. Except for his scar there isn’t a mark on him, he just needs to wake up.”

Percy was so caught up in staring at Luke, awash in emotions he could barely hold back let alone sort out, he missed Will talking to Nico.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, Nico.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to see me,” he said. Neither of them made a move to leave the room; they just stood closer to the door.

Percy decided to act as though he was still paying attention to Luke.

“You know, I never took you for a coward,” said Will tightly. “You could have at least had the decency to turn me down to my face.

Percy couldn’t cover his reaction to that. Nico had never officially turned Will down?

"We were never going out!” Nico protested.

“Don’t give me that crap,” Will said. He sounded angry enough that part of Percy wanted to turn around and make it clear to Will that talking to Nico like that was  _not_ okay. On the other hand, Percy didn't want to make things worse, relationship drama was delicate at best, explosive at worse. He knew this from experience.

Also, Nico could more than easily take care of himself. If Will did anything stupid he'd discover how powerful Nico truly was, probably before Percy had finished turning around.

Nico was growling, a rumbling groan of frustration. “And I didn’t know—I mean, why would you want to be friends with me besides… _that_.”

“Are you serious?” Will blinked, as if unsure he’d just heard Nico accurately.

“Well? Why would you?” asked Nico. “If I wasn’t going to be... I mean why would you care?”

Oh boy. Nico clearly still had some self-esteem issues to work out. Percy could empathize, but honestly, at least Nico just needed to wake up and realize how awesome he was. Percy, on the other hand, would always be dumb and unobservant.

Like, he’d never thought to check what had happened between Nico and Will, he’d just assumed they broke off whatever their relationship was, like he and Annabeth had.

“I won’t lie and say I didn’t have feelings for you,” said Will coldly. “But I actually wanted to be your friend, regardless of how you might have felt about me.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” Nico protested.

“Fine,” Will snapped. “You know what? Never mind. You have nothing to apologize for, it was all in my head and I’m being irrational. So I’m sorry, and you can just— _have a good day_.”

Will stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. A moment later light flooded the hall outside, pouring in around the seams of the door before it winked out.

Nico sighed heavily. “I think I just really screwed up.”

“Yeah, well, he didn’t have to be a jerk about it,” Percy told him. Nico still looked upset so Percy looped his arm around Nico’s shoulders and pulled him in.

Nico surprised him by falling into the hug, turning himself into Percy and wrapping his arms around him. After a second’s surprise, Percy did the same, folding Nico into his arms.

“I think you‘re getting taller,” said Percy after a second. Nico leaned back and looked at him skeptically. “I’m serious, your hair is, like, starting to get in my eyes now.”

Nico snorted. “Thanks, Percy.”

Percy’s eyes burned as he surveyed Luke. Nico held a step back like he didn’t want to intrude.

“You know… I think I might have had a crush on him,” said Percy quietly. He looked up at Nico, who was gaping at him. “Kind of funny, right?”

Nico didn’t look like he thought so. “I’m so sorry, Percy.”

“I mean, it’s not like I knew that’s what it was,” said Percy. “I just liked watching him practice his swordplay, all hot and sweaty, which… you know.”

“Oh wow,” said Nico, and the pity was finally leaving his face, be replaced by something liked awed humor. “You had it bad _,_ didn’t you?”

“Like you didn’t?” asked Percy and then wished he hadn’t, he wasn’t sure if that was okay to joke about yet. Apparently it was because Nico blew a raspberry at him. Percy grinned and turned back to Luke. The grin faded.

What had it been, a little over a year? Luke looked the same, perhaps a little younger, but Percy felt worlds away changed from when they’d last met. Now Luke didn’t look quite so adult, and to Percy’s surprise, he wasn’t much shorter than Luke now.

In sleep Luke looked tired and worn, but also peaceful, almost mirroring the transformation Nico underwent. The lines in his face softened, and he looked younger, vulnerable. He was an adult, but the kind that Percy’s mom would still refer to as a kid.

Percy reached out to touch Luke, his hair, his face--he didn’t know--but he paused his hand in mid-air.

It didn’t feel right. Could he forgive Luke all over again, knowing that Luke was alive and not valiantly sacrificing himself? All those loose ends that he’d thought tied up, what happened when they came undone, one by one?

“Let’s go home,” said Percy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my mom's in town for passover so I'm not gonna get much done this weekend so there'll probably be no update next Fri. in penance I offer you this steamy bidness

Manhattan – Percy’s Home

_Desire doubled is love, and love doubled is madness_

Nico

The moment the door clicked shut Nico knew he was in trouble. The apartment was silent, the kind of silence that came from a distinct absence of people. Except for the two of them. No one around to interrupt them, or stop them from doing… anything.

Percy and Nico hung up their coats in near-silence. Nico felt like he should say something, but it was like his tongue had been tied into a knot. He couldn’t get a word out, so he mutely followed Percy.

They took off their shoes and when Percy gestured at the TV, a question in the way he quirked his eyebrows, Nico nodded. Percy practically flung himself into the corner of the couch, and Nico paused. He wanted to curl up against Percy’s side or even better in his lap, but he still couldn’t just do those things. Every instinct in his body cried out to sit in the opposite corner, as far from Percy as possible.

“C’mere,” said Percy, and Nico folded into him, just like last night. He didn’t know if he’d ever get tired of touching Percy, of sitting in his lap or being wrapped in his arms. It still felt a little unreal, being with Percy, like a fever dream. But Percy was very real, solid and warm, his hands burning hot through the denim of Nico’s jeans.

Percy had started kissing Nico and was barely looking at what he was clicking on the TV. Nico leaned back so Percy could focus for a second, and a moment later he dropped the remote, happy with whatever he’d chosen. They went back to making out.

It didn’t take long for Nico to find himself on his back. He lay stretched out on the couch with Percy on top of him, kissing him breathless and driving him senseless with the grinding of their hips. Nico felt like he was starving for air but he couldn’t stop kissing Percy. Every time he pulled back to catch his breath he fell back to kissing Percy before he could. Then Percy moved to his neck, licking and _biting_ and Nico let loose a little groan, a pathetically high whimper that he immediately felt embarrassed about.

At least he did until Percy stopped attacking his neck and swore, pulling back to stare at Nico in amazement. Then Percy bent back to Nico’s neck and did the same thing, but longer, wetter, and with more teeth.

Nico moaned, a high, wild, and shameless sound.

Percy shuddered and drove Nico harder into the cushions with his hips. If Percy kept doing that Nico was going to make a mess in his pants. Stopping was the last thing in the world Nico wanted just then, with his hands up Percy’s shirt while Percy nipped at his neck, the lobe of his ear, and Nico was so hard--

Percy’s phone was vibrating.

They might not have even stopped, but the noise was particularly grating because it was on the glass coffee table. Reluctantly they separated enough for Percy to pick up his phone.

“It’s my mom,” he said and just like that the mood was officially broken.

Percy answered the phone and started talking as he wandered into the kitchen. Nico looked at the TV and after a few moments of trying to make sense of what was on-screen he gave up and turned it off. Since Percy was in the kitchen, Nico pulled out his phone and saw a text from Jason.

_Let me know when you guys are doing dinner_

Nico frowned and then started tapping. _Okay but why aren’t you and Piper going out?_

“Nothing happened, okay? It was a totally uneventful outing!” Percy sounded a little frustrated by his mom, and was pacing in the kitchen.

Nico bit his lip. He liked Sally, and she seemed to have forgiven him for convincing Percy to bathe in the Styx, but he wasn’t sure how to act around her now that he was doing this whatever it was with Percy. He still cringed when he remembered the look on her face when she saw them that morning, in Percy’s bed. Her wry but knowing look left Nico feeling thoroughly childish and exposed, though not rebuked.

He wondered if his own mother would have looked at him like that. He hoped so, he really did.

They still hadn’t said the word boyfriend to each other. Percy hadn’t said love either, but Nico knew Percy’s feelings were new, at least compared to his. He wasn’t going to rush anything; he knew he only got one shot at this, and he was going to take it as carefully as he could.

Nico popped his head over the back of the couch to see Percy pacing in the kitchen. Percy wasn’t paying any attention to him, and Nico finally got a moment just to stare with no one around to judge him.

His friends didn’t judge him; he tried to remind himself. It would have worked if he weren’t staring at Percy. His dark hair, the strength in his stance, the way his pants hugged his legs, the muscles in his arms, his shoulders, his hands… Nico knew how those hands felt, so hot like they were burning him, strong, almost overpowering at times, but never forceful. Percy was so gentle with him, and holding Percy was like coming home.

Nico wanted to be holding him now. But he wouldn’t intrude on Percy’s conversation. Mothers were important. More memories of his mother had trickled back over the years, and his father had opened up about some things, but he still had questions, things he wanted to find out. Did he have other family? Still living relatives somewhere?

He’d thought that maybe after thing settled down after the war ended he’d have some time eventually to do that, find some answers. Now they had a new world ending catastrophe looming, and Nico didn’t know when he’d get his chance.

Percy groaned and sat up on the counter. He looked at Nico and waved. Nico waved back. “I know, mom. Yes. Yeah. I promise, okay? Now go have fun or whatever it is adults do. Yes. I love you too.”

Percy set his phone down and grumbled something Nico couldn’t make out.

“Sorry about that, she’s turned into a total worrywart,” said Percy as he came around the couch.

“It’s understandable,” said Nico and Percy cocked his head to the side as he took up his old position. He looked at Nico expectantly, and after a moment’s hesitation, Nico clambered into Percy’s lap. Percy slid his arms around Nico and shifted to make himself comfortable. Nico curled up his legs and leaned against the arm of the couch, resting his head on Percy’s shoulder.

“You think so?” Percy gently stroked Nico’s arm with the back of his thumb while he clicked the remote with his other hand.

“You disappeared, and she had no idea what happened to you,” Nico said softly. Those had been difficult days, and the difficulty had only shifted form when Nico found Percy. He looked up at Percy’s face to see if he looked mad. Nico would be, in his shoes.

“I get why you had to do it, but it still stings, you know?” The confirmation turned Nico’s insides into ice. He felt sick.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Percy pressed a little kiss to Nico's forehead, and squeezed the arm wrapped around Nico’s back. Just like that the ice melted, and Nico relaxed.

“It’s okay,” said Percy. “I mean, it’s not, but it was an impossible situation, and none of it was your fault. And it’s not like I don’t have regrets about how I’ve treated you.”

This was news to Nico. “You do?’

“Of course, I do!” Percy pulled back to look at him. “You were a little kid, and you’d lost everything! Someone should have been looking out for you--and not because of some stupid prophecy.”

“You were a little kid, too,” said Nico and Percy quirked an eyebrow at him. “What? You were! Twelve is little.”

“Said the fourteen-year-old,” teased Percy. Nico’s cheeks felt hot. “And I had just turned thirteen a couple months before I met you.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna be fifteen soon,” Nico groused. Percy just squeezed him close, and Nico let himself lean into Percy completely.

“I had no idea you were so cuddly,” said Percy. The movie was starting, but Nico was feeling a bit sleepy, so warm and content he was yawning pretty much non-stop now. It wasn’t very late, but the sky was already dark, it was cold out, and he was warm, snuggling with the boy he loved.

"It’s a relatively recent development,” said Nico, and hoped the tremble in his voice passed by unnoticed. This tenderness from Percy undid little gnarled knots of pain in his past and left him with glorious bittersweet aches where they once hurt him. “What are we watching?”

“Something I just discovered the other night,” said Percy. Nico wasn’t sure what that meant, and then the title screen came up.

“There’s a Mythomagic movie?” Nico couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to believe it.

“It was made like last year, and it’s supposed to be really bad,” Percy told him, an edge of laughter in his voice. “But all the reviews say it’s pretty faithful to the game, so I thought maybe you’d enjoy it.”

“Why would we want to watch a bad movie?”

“To laugh at it! Did they not do that in the 40’s?”

“Not really,” said Nico. His patchwork memories told him enough for that. “Movies were kind of a big deal, you know, nobody had television or the Internet back then.”

“Oh, well it’s a thing people do. I thought you’d like it.” Percy sounded uncertain like he was worried he’d made a mistake.

Nico still felt more than a little embarrassed about his history with Mythomagic, but this wasn’t just about that. Percy had thought of him when they were apart, had planned something around what he thought Nico liked. That knowledge, and their privacy empowered him to press a light kiss to Percy’s cheek without invitation.

“Thank you,” Nico said quietly.

Percy stared at him with wide eyes. Nico worried that he’d somehow overstepped, but then Percy smiled that slightly crooked smile that had been burned into Nico’s heart since he was ten years old. They kissed again, and when they came up for air turned the movie on.

It turned out the movie was worse than Percy had anticipated. It was so bad, in fact, that it wasn’t even funny, just boring.

So it didn’t take long for the kissing to start up again, and for them to begin ignoring the movie completely.

What they couldn’t ignore were their stomachs.

Percy had made a reservation at a little Italian restaurant his mom and Paul liked. Outside though the weather had taken a turn for the worse. As in the wind was blowing loud enough to howl and the air filled with snow flying sideways. They both agreed they didn’t want to go out.

Nico wasn’t that disappointed, being out and about with Percy meant not touching Percy, not being intimate with him. In some ways, this was better.

“So, what should we eat?” Percy was opening a drawer of takeout menus. The movie was still going in the background. Nico stood just behind him, rubbing his neck and hoping Percy hadn’t left any marks on his skin. “I’ve got Chinese, Thai, pizza—ooh, barbecue…”

“I think Jason and Piper are coming back before the weather gets worse,” said Nico as he flicked through the messages on his phone. Jason had texted him while they’d been making out, and so had Hazel, although she was just checking in on him.

Hazel had taken to the phone like a duck to water and was always sending Nico little messages to brighten his day.

“So we gotta find a vegetarian option,” said Percy. “How about Indian?”

Nico shrugged. He was pretty easy going as far as food went. He just wanted to watch Percy and hope he didn’t look as lovesick as he felt.

Percy was squinting at the menus. Nico had never been especially bothered by demigod dyslexia, but he knew that for Percy it was a pretty serious obstacle.

“Would it be easier to read on your phone?” asked Nico and Percy’s face lit up. Annabeth’s apps automatically converted all text into a dyslexic friendly font.

“You’re totally right! Man, these things are a godsend. Well, a living godsend.”

Nico snorted.

Percy hummed to himself as he came around the couch and sank down next to Nico. He still read slowly but didn’t look like he was on the verge of pain. Nico felt good about being able to help the boy he loved. “So, Indian? We had Chinese last night… Or we could just have pizza. What do you think?”

Nico shrugged, he was pretty easy going when it came to food. The period when he’d been on his own he hadn’t exactly starved, but he’d always eaten what was available when it was available, no questions.

"We could wait for Jason and Piper,” he offered after Percy had paged through a few menus. “They should be here soon.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Percy sighed and put his phone down.

There was a pause, and they both looked at each other.

The next thing Nico knew he was on top of Percy and they were trying to thrust their way through each other’s jeans. So far they hadn’t done much exploring under each other’s clothes like there was an unspoken consensus not to take anything off or slip hands into places they shouldn’t go. Nico wasn’t against any of that, but he kept waiting for it with a mix of excitement and pure terror. It was hard to remember that Percy didn’t have any more experience than he did because Percy didn’t hesitate. Percy moved like he knew what he was doing and all Nico could hope to do was trail along and not make a fool of himself.

“We should—probably stop,” said Nico. “Jason and Piper are—on their way.”

“Yeah…” Percy was breathing hard beneath him, both of his hands resting on Nico’s hips, his thumbs making little circular motions, occasionally pulling Nico forward with an almost involuntary thrust. “Kinda don’t want to, though.”

Nico squeaked as Percy dragged his hips forward hard. “Percy!”

“Sorry, you’re just really…” Percy swallowed noisily. “You feel good.”

Well, that definitely merited another kiss. Every time Percy said something like that it hit Nico all over again: he was dating Percy Jackson (apparently people didn’t “go steady” anymore). He wasn’t pining away in the dark. Percy returned his affections and his attraction, and Nico could touch him as much as he wanted.

“They’ll buzz us, that’ll be plenty of time,” Percy said as he rolled them over, so he covered Nico with a comforting, protective weight.

Time for what, Nico wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter, Percy was kissing him, touching him, and making little noises of pleasure with him, _because_ of him. The weight of Percy, the smell, and heat of him as he bore down on top of Nico, against that all else paled in importance to the point of invisibility.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay folks here's the deal: I'm not gonna get any work done this weekend, but I couldn't leave you guys in the post ToA lurch with such a short chapter that wasn't even from Nico or Percy's pov. so I'm double posting this weekend and skipping next weekend

Manhattan Subway

_This is why you fight. This is the source of your strength._

_You are capable of so very much..._

Piper 

“You’re thinking pretty hard over there.”

Piper blinked and looked up at her boyfriend. Jason’s brow was furrowed in concern. The subway took a gentle curve that was slowly building up inertia.

“Everything okay?” Jason asked, his eyes full of gentle concern.

“Yeah,” Piper said, tightening her grip on the subway car’s pole. “Just going over what Annabeth said.”

“You mean about pursuing the prophecy even though Hestia was very clear on how she wasn’t supposed to do that?” asked Jason wryly. “I used to wonder how she and Percy worked, but I think I get it now: Annabeth breaks the rules and Percy is so loyal he goes along with it.”

“They have their respective strong points,” said Piper. “Hazel’s right, though, Nico and Percy are pretty adorable.”

“A little too adorable,” Jason muttered.

Piper grinned. Jason had told her about being woken up in the middle of the night by Nico’s nightmare, and Percy’s ensuing comforting technique.

“They’ll settle down soon,” Piper told him, and then she smirked at Jason. “Hopefully.”

Jason grimaced. As awkward as the whole situation had been, he couldn’t deny it was pretty funny. Piper was gentle with her teasing, though, and she sensed that Jason didn’t need any more pestering.

It hadn’t escaped her notice how Jason talked about the whole incident. Namely that he’d been flushed and unwilling to meet her eyes when describing how it kept him up. Jason wasn’t a coward by any stretch, so Piper had taken note of his reluctance. She wasn’t sure where it stemmed from because normal discomfort with involuntary voyeurism didn’t entail avoidance.

Jason hadn’t complained about what Percy and Nico were doing so much as he had confided in Piper he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep. The distinction and its potential significance weren't lost on her.

That kind of analysis was the sort Annabeth was best suited toward.

“And I’ve never seen Nico smile so much,” Piper said.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool.” Jason’s smile twisted up into a frown. “Was something up with Leo, you think?”

“You mean that thing with Calypso before we left?” Just before Jason and Piper had declared they were heading back to Percy’s, Calypso had joined them in the workshop. And she and Leo had started arguing. “I don’t think Leo was expecting to be locked down as soon as he got back, it’s unfair to both of them.”

Calypso had been cooped up on Ogygia for centuries upon centuries, and now that she was free she wanted to see the world. Since none of the living gods were permitted to leave Olympus, this was proving problematic, because she wanted to go with Leo. And even spending time together would be hard since Leo was focused entirely on building new thrones for the gods. The sooner he finished the sooner the prophecy could come to pass.

“You think they’ll make it?”

“I don’t know,” said Piper with a sigh. “She’s a literal goddess, daughter of the Titans, and honestly one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. That’s a lot of pressure for Leo to put on himself now that they’re off the island.”

“He’s always too hard on himself,” agreed Jason. “I wish we got to spend more time with him. All of them.”

“Yeah,” said Piper. She was worried about them, but mostly Annabeth and Leo. Leo was not only doing most of the work for rebuilding the thrones, but also a hundred little projects that the power of Hephaestus let him tackle. He was still human, though, with human limitations. And Annabeth…

Annabeth had tapped into her mother’s godhead deeper than any of the others, even Hazel, and Clarisse. She claimed she knew her limits, but Piper still worried. If Annabeth overextended herself, she’d burn out, or her blood would completely turn to ichor and poison her. Not even ambrosia or divine fruit could save her then.

Also, there was the thing with Hestia. Annabeth wanted to explore and research the apostate prophecy and hunt down Ravana, Enoch, and the rogue demigods. According to Annabeth the prophecy was very clear: whatever they needed to free the gods was in the House of Wisdom, and Annabeth thought that thing was Daedalus’s laptop. Hestia didn’t care what Annabeth thought and said that fate would reveal itself in its own time.

They got out of the subway and were nearly bowled over by the wind until Jason tamped down on it. People around them seemed grateful for the break in weather even if they didn’t know where it came from. Snow was already piling up on the streets and Piper wrapped her long coat around her more tightly.

A short walk later they arrived at Percy’s building and buzzed to come up. The response didn’t come immediately, and Jason gave Piper a resigned look as she giggled. Finally, the door beeped and clicked open.

“Look at it this way,” said Piper. “Maybe they got some of it out of their system.”

Jason grumbled something in response and Piper laughed.

When they walked in Percy and Nico were sitting on the couch, innocently watching television. Their rumpled hair and clothes told a different story. Also…

“Looks like you guys have been having fun,” said Jason wryly.

Nico flared up as his cheeks flushed bright red for the thousandth time that weekend. A massive hickey dominated the side of his neck that Piper could see, Percy had apparently really gone to town on Nico. Percy was pink too, but also largely unrepentant.

“You should probably ask your girlfriend for permission before you try and proposition us,” he told Jason. Piper almost died at the look of panic that passed over Jason’s face. The way Nico whined and hid his face in Percy’s neck was pretty cute too. “So, what are you guys thinking for dinner?”

In the end, they felt guilty about making some poor delivery person come to them with food through the near-blizzard outside. Paul called to say he was stuck out in Queens and might not be back until late, which meant they were on their own for dinner.

Lucky for them Sally Jackson was a preparation minded person, and there were several frozen meals in the freezer.

They pulled out some soup and a casserole, cold weather food. Standing around in the kitchen, talking with each other felt normal in an excellent way. No monsters, no epic quests, no gods or world-ending prophecies, just friends and food in a warm kitchen on a cold and blustery day. Piper was able to appreciate that feeling of belonging, of home.

“It's a shame about Leo and Calypso,” said Percy, a frown on his face as he put the casserole in the just pre-heated oven. “They really can’t let them out to even see the city?”

“Not after those demigods kidnapped Apollo out from under their noses,” said Jason.

Piper scowled, she knew it wasn’t her fault if even the gods could be taken unawares, but she still felt responsible. If she’d been faster or smarter, maybe she could have stopped them, stopped all of this from happening.

“How’s Pollux doing?” asked Percy. Jason traded a heavy look with Piper. Nico folded his arms over his chest.

“About as well as you could hope,” said Piper sadly. “He’d barely started coming to terms with his mom’s death when the gods got trapped. We’re all keeping an eye on him, but…”

“He’s been spending a lot of time alone in his cabin,” said Jason grimly.

“Gods forbid he want some privacy,” muttered Nico.

“You’ve been talking to him?” Jason asked.

Nico shrugged. “We’ve talked.”

Nico didn’t offer any more than that.

“Well, it’s just another reason to get a move on with all this throne stuff,” said Percy, like he was trying to convince himself of something. “So, we’ve got like at least half an hour before dinner’s gonna be ready, what do you guys feel like doing?”

They wound up streaming silly videos from their phones onto the television. It quickly turned into a competition between Jason and Percy, with Nico and Piper being more discerning in their selections.

Nico didn’t scare Piper, at least not when he was snuggled up against Percy’s side and clearly lovesick, but he was still a mystery to her. Even Jason, who was about as close to Nico as anyone who wasn’t Hazel or Percy, could be, knew relatively little about Nico.

Piper had finally found friends—family, really, both figuratively and literally—whom she could trust. Nico was part of that, and she wanted to know him better.

For now, laughing at silly videos while sitting on the couch with her boyfriend and their friends, this was more than enough.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay folks here's the deal: I'm not gonna get any work done this weekend, but I couldn't leave you guys in the post ToA lurch with such a short chapter that wasn't even from Nico or Percy pov. so I'm double posting this weekend and skipping next weekend, and here's the second chapter

Percy’s Home

_You have a choice. Fate may strip you of all else, but you will always have a choice_

_They cannot take that from you, no matter how hard they try_

Percy

Piper and Jason left the next morning, but Nico had begged off, claiming that with the Helm his trip back would take no time at all.

Jason hadn’t agreed. Jason had said that Nico needed to inform Chiron. Jason had acted like Nico wasn’t capable of making his own decisions. Jason had insinuated that Percy needed not to think with his dick and monitor Nico’s behavior for him, as though he were a child.

Nico might have blown up a little at him. Percy might have helped.

When Jason insinuated that the only reason Nico was staying over was so he and Percy could hook up supervision free, Nico had lost his temper—or rather done the Nico equivalent of losing his temper, which was totally shutting down.

Mostly this involved being extremely cold to Jason and making it clear that Jason was being ignored and dismissed with extreme prejudice.

Percy felt a bit guilty because one of the reasons he was excited Nico was staying longer was definitely because of the window of privacy they’d have before his mom came home. Getting into Nico’s pants was a pretty attractive prospect, on several levels, although he was pretty sure neither of them were ready for that just yet.

But Percy was also glad Nico was staying over longer for other reasons, not the least of which was that Percy wasn’t ready to go back to being by himself, or with just his mother. It eased the itching under his skin, the one that kept him glancing at doors and windows and feeling like he needed to go for a run.

Percy knew instinctively that he could trust Nico. Sometimes he felt guilty at how recent a development that was, if Percy was honest while he’d always cared about Nico and wanted to protect him, he hadn’t always trusted him. To be fair, Nico had betrayed his trust, but not because he wanted to, just because he was a naïve little kid.

They’d both been little kids, and they’d done their best. But now Percy knew how much Nico cared about him, how much Nico loved him, and how that love had colored every choice that Nico had ever made.

Knowing that, how could Percy not trust Nico with every fiber of his being?

So that was how—after spending some time playing video games, and making out on the couch while Paul went out for groceries before Sally got home—Percy found himself having dinner with Nico, his mom, freshly returned from her writer’s retreat, and Paul.

Percy had seen enough movies to know this was supposed to be extremely awkward, taking your girlfriend… or whatever, to meet your parents. Except Nico had met both of them before, and this time he wasn’t proposing a life-or-death plan to save the world.

Honestly, after that, what could possibly be more awkward?

Well, it had very nearly been a close call when Sally got home and Percy had his hands up Nico’s shirts. If she’d arrived a bit later who knows where hands might have been.

Percy and Nico hadn’t really talked about sex, how much they both (desperately) wanted to have it, and were also (utterly) terrified of the prospect.

Percy would never admit it aloud, but the books his mom had gotten him were looking more and more enticing. Which wasn’t necessarily something he wanted to think about too deeply while at the dinner table.

“So, Nico,” said Paul as he portioned himself some pasta. “Percy says your sister is running the underworld these days?”

After Percy and Nico had straightened their clothes out and calmed down from furiously humping each other on Percy’s bed, they went out to greet Sally.

Then, while Paul made dinner, they wasted an hour decimating Nazis and aliens and zombies, one after another. Percy didn’t want to compare Nico too much to Annabeth, but Nico was much more patient with him in video games. On the handful of times Percy and Annabeth played games together… well, Annabeth played to win when she played, and sometimes Percy liked to just keep moving instead of exploring every little nook and cranny of a level for hidden items and bonuses.

If Percy decided to jump ahead and skip a fight then Nico would just kind of laugh and follow along, usually saving Percy’s life because Nico was better at video games than Percy would ever be.

“Uh, sort of,” said Nico, lowering his forkful of blue mashed potatoes.

Percy wasn’t getting tired of blue food, but it had been showing up at nearly every meal. He wanted to shout to his mom that he was home and he was okay and she didn’t have to worry anymore.

“Lady Persephone is actually managing things down there,” Nico explained. “Hazel’s just holding our father’s power until all the thrones are reforged.”

Even if Percy did tell his mom she didn’t have to worry, they both knew it would be a lie. He was a demigod, there’d always be something to worry about.

Always.

“It’s just temporary though, right?” Sally asked, an edge of concern to her voice.

“Yeah, as soon as we free the gods from their thrones everything will go back to normal,” Percy told her.

“Good,” she said. “Maybe when this is all calmed down we can talk about school.”

The last bit was addressed to Percy who grunted. He didn’t want to think about school.

“I thought you wanted to go to New Rome?” said Paul.

“I did,” he said trying to communicate to his mom that all of those plans involved Annabeth. Without her there was no point.

“Well, just because you made those plans with Annabeth doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea,” said Sally proving impervious to Percy’s efforts to silently communicate that he didn’t want to talk about this. “Nico, what do you plan to do about school when all is said and done?”

“Uh.” Nico looked caught like a deer facing oncoming headlights. “I… don’t know?

“Mom!” Percy hissed and she gave him a quelling look.

“It’s important that you boys get a good education,” Sally went on. “And New Rome sounds like a place where you could get that and be safe from monsters. I wish I’d known about it before.

“I’m surprised there’s not a Greek equivalent,” said Paul. “Seems like the sensible thing to do.”

“There was, once,” said Nico and Percy perked up because he hadn’t known this. “New Athens.”

“I assume something terrible happened to it,” said Sally dryly, but not without sympathy.

“Yep.”

“Where was it?” asked Percy.

“Camp Half Blood is built over it,” said Nico. Percy supposed that was how Nico always had so many skeletons to dredge up around camp. It wasn’t a very comfortable thought.

"Percy, you’re not eating your Brussels sprouts,” said Sally, as if Percy was a little kid, which he really didn’t appreciate, especially in front of his boyfriend.

“Just saving the best for last,” he said tightly and speared a sprout. “Like an adult.”

“Next time I’ll sear them with a bit of pancetta,” said Paul with a wink at Percy. “Makes them a little more tolerable.”

“I can tolerate them just fine,” said Percy indignantly. “Besides, I’ve tolerated worse.” He looked pointedly at Nico who quirked an eyebrow.

“You didn’t actually eat the periwinkle though,” he said and Percy shuddered.

“Because it was super gross!”

“When were you eating periwinkles?” asked Sally with a little laugh.

“When we got stuck in Spain,” said Percy, “And we had lunch with… you know.”

Percy and his mom had never really been religious, and Paul was Catholic but Percy had never seen him actually go to Mass. Still, the revelation that God was real and the devil was real had been pretty major for them.

It had been major for Percy too.

"Well, I have to admit, I’m glad you got to take in a little more of the local culture on your adventure this time,” Sally said. “If nothing else you’re seeing the world while risking your life.”

She sounded angry. Percy knew she wasn’t angry with him, but he still wanted to apologize.

“Have you thought about what you want to do after school?” asked Paul. Everyone looked at him. “What? If we’re discussing education it’s an important question to consider.”

“Not really?” Percy said with a shrug. “I mean, I dunno. I just always pictured myself kind of doing some kind of, like, office job, I guess, but that was, you know, before. Maybe being a counselor at camp?”

“Your life is more than just being a demigod,” said Sally firmly. “If being a counselor at Camp Half Blood gives you what you want, then that’s fine, but you have the right to pursue your own interests, and you have other strengths you can explore.”

“Well I don’t see the two as necessarily exclusive,” said Paul and Sally looked at him. Under the table Nico nudge Percy’s foot with his and Percy responded by hooking his foot around Nico’s ankle and nuzzling. Nico turned pink, but didn’t pull away, his presence giving Percy something else to focus on.

Percy didn’t really have any grand aspirations, he just wanted to be comfortable. A good, solid job, a wife—well, a family at any rate—and a little house with a proper yard, maybe somewhere on the coast. He didn’t know quite what went into that picture, he just knew he wanted it.

Or he had. Some things had changed, and the perfect picture had come a bit unhinged. Percy realized he had tuned out a bit.

“I’m just saying that Percy has abilities that regular people don’t, and not using them is a bit silly,” said Paul. “Gods and monsters fit into analogues in the modern world, there’s no reason Percy—and Nico, for that matter—shouldn’t be able to benefit from their literally god given talents!”

“I don’t disagree with that,” said Sally, although she sounded like she did. “But I refuse to let the gods—or anyone else—interfere any more with Percy’s ability to live his own life.”

“And I think everyone at this table supports that one-hundred and ten percent,” said Paul. “But… well, think of how much a marine biologist who can breathe underwater and communicate with sea creatures could discover about the world?”

"I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be a scientist,” said Percy.

Paul shrugged. “It’s just an example. I can ask Jim about water and marine related careers if you want.”

Jim meant Mr. Putter, the guidance counselor for Goode High School, or at least for students who had last names starting with J through P.

“Or horses, heck, even geology,” Paul went on. “You could do very well as a surveyor, especially looking for water, which is pretty important these days.”

Percy felt a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities suddenly unfolding before him. With just a few words Paul had opened up a world of adulthood for Percy and he felt unmoored by it.

“Please do,” Sally told him. “We can’t make a good decision without of an idea of what’s possible.”

“As long as it’s _we_ who get to make a decision,” said Percy and then sat up in alarm when his mom and Paul exchanged heavy looks. “Mom?”

Paul coughed into his hand and Percy’s mom sighed, but sadly.

“Mom?” Percy didn’t feel quite so alarmed but he was still on edge. Nico pressed his leg more firmly against Percy’s, grounding him. Paul took Sally’s hand and smiled at her and Percy knew, he knew and his mom was looking at him with careful warmth and he almost didn’t hear her words over the dull roaring in his ears.

“We wanted to prepare you a bit more for this, but… Percy, I’m pregnant.”

Silence.

“Oh, okay.” Percy’s eyes went wide. “Wait, _what_?”

“I’m pregnant, Percy,” said Sally gently.

"Oh. Oh! OH!” Percy’s escalating reaction broke whatever tension was in the room, and Paul’s laughter erased it. Suddenly they were all laughing, even Nico, who still looked a bit stunned by the whole conversation. “Oh, wow. Wow!”

“Congratulations,” said Nico, all smiles. Sally beamed at him and Paul clapped him companionably on the shoulder. Percy felt like his brain had turned to mush, he kept wanting to say things, like he loved his mom and he was so happy for her and Paul. Because he felt those things, but he also felt numb, distant, like he wasn’t quite in his body. He was bouncing his knee and he hadn’t even realized it.

A lot had just happened, but this wasn’t a life or death situation, it was just him, at home, where he should feel safe. But he didn’t, his heart was beating a hair too fast, his palms were sweating and he couldn’t keep his eyes focused, his gaze kept flicking around the room.

“Well, I guess it’s good I'm going back to camp then,” said Percy. “The baby can have my room!”

Immediately he knew he’d said the wrong thing.

“What are you talking about, Percy?” asked Sally. She wasn’t happy anymore.

“Well… I’m going back to camp,” said Percy. “To get my GED and stuff. They have a program. And then I won’t be in the way, for, you know, the baby.”

“Be in the way?” His mom looked appalled. “Percy, sweetheart, how could you possibly think you’d be in the way, you’re part of this family! And you’ll be staying here to finish school.”

“Mom.” Percy really hadn’t meant to start this conversation now. Nico looked like he was seconds away from shadow-travelling out and Paul was—well, Paul actually looked like the calmest person in the room. “You know I can’t stay here forever. Annabeth won’t always be running the show on Olympus much longer, and as soon as the Bubos stop patrolling it won't be safe for me to stay here anymore. I have to go eventually.”

“No! No you don’t,” said Sally, regaining control of herself. Percy knew she wouldn’t let him go easily, even for her own safety. “We can talk about it later.”

Dinner after that was tense, but Paul played the part of peacemaker and kept the conversation light. He even managed to draw Nico into talking, which was good because Percy and his mom were having a difficult time feeling upbeat.

 After dinner he walked Nico to the door. They hadn’t agreed on a departure time or anything, but after that Percy felt like it was time to usher Nico out. The poor guy hadn’t signed on for a spare mom when he fell in love with Percy. Percy would have to talk to her about it.

“So, I’m sorry about that,” he said.

Nico gave him a confused look. “What for?”

“I didn’t mean to drag you into that between me and my mom,” he explained.

“I didn’t mind,” Nico told him. “She loves you and wants you to be safe and happy. We have a lot in common.”

This boy…

Percy pulled Nico into a hug. Not a kiss, just a heartfelt embrace, though he did brush Nico’s cheek with his lips as they pulled apart.

Nico pulled the helm out of his bag, and Percy felt the brief chill of its terror wash over him before Nico reined it back in.

The hairs on the back of Percy’s neck still wouldn’t stand down though.

“Are you going to be okay?” asked Nico. He looked pensive, like he didn’t want to leave Percy alone. The expression was decidedly at odds with the dark, wicked looking helm.

"Percy kissed the tip of Nico’s nose, enjoying the little beep of surprise he made. “Yeah. We’ll talk it out.”

All right.” Nico gave him one last searching look and then stepped back, melting into the shadows that seemed to drip off the Helm.

After Nico left Percy flopped onto his bed and just sank into the mattress. The same mattress he’d almost had sex with Nico on. Or at least done some sexy stuff.

On a sudden and unbidden whim he got up and went over to his underwear drawer. He pulled out The Book and opened it. Unlike his phone, this was not a dyslexic friendly text, although it was large. Luckily, there were diagrams. And pictures.

Lots of them.

Oh, so that was how…

 _Whoa_.

Percy sat down and for the first time started reading avidly.


	9. Chapter 9

Camp Half Blood

_Here is the freedom that you yearned for, that you fought and bled and prayed for_

_Now pray it isn’t poisoned_

Nico

Sometimes Nico kind of hated the fact that he was, by default, considered a counselor. Especially since he didn’t have any siblings to oversee, which meant he was given more general duties around the camp. And sometimes those duties involved being up way too early after a night when he’d gone to bed far too late.

Now he was outside tramping around with Jake Mason in the pre-dawn snow creating trenches for the foundations of the Hephaestus cabins’ new fortifications.

“Chiron must be pretty pissed with you.” Nico looked up to see Jason walking toward him and Jake.

“I’m not talking to you,” Nico informed him.

Jake watched the two of them like they were unpredictable wild animals, his gaze bouncing back and forth between them. Nico focused on widening the ditch before him, but he still heard Jason sigh.

“Hey, Jake, can you give us some space?” asked Jason.

“Yeah, sure,” Jake said, relieved to be let go from whatever discussion Jason apparently wanted to have. 

“No,” said Nico sharply and Jake froze. Will had been half-right, most of the other demigods didn’t shun him, he was practically one of the Seven, but they were still scared of him. “We’re working.”

“Nico, please,” Jason began.

“If it’s all right, Jason, we really do have a lot of work to do,” said Jake to Nico’s surprise. After a tense moment where Nico could see Jake staring at Jason out of the corner of his eye, Jason sighed again and walked away.

“Thanks,” said Nico gruffly once Jason was gone.

“No worries,” Jake said. “I know he was a praetor at Camp Jupiter or something, and he’s a son of Zeus, but he needs to tone it down a bit.”

Nico hummed in agreement, although the situation was bit more complicated than that. It wasn’t that Jason was bossy, although he was a little, he moved through the world with a self-assuredness that could be off-putting. Especially since, as Nico knew, it was mostly only skin-deep. Maybe Praetor Jason had felt that confidence, but Greek Jason, the Jason, who was the merging of his real and fake memories, had deep insecurities. How couldn’t he? Some of him wasn’t real.

Just like how Nico knew that in some ways the little boy Nico, the one who had grown up with a mother and a sister, was dead. Oh sure, Nico had his memories, some of them at least. And the Nico that came out of the Lethe was still himself in all the important ways, but he also wasn’t.

Being shades of a different person inside your own head was hard. Nico hadn’t ever talked to Percy about it, maybe someday they would. Sharing things with Percy, being intimate with him more than just kisses and hands under shirts… 

Nico shivered and hoped he passed it off as from the cold.

“That’s wide enough,” Jake said. “Now could you make this one twice as deep as the last ones?”

“Yes,” said Nico, and very slowly began to edge the earth down.

“So… what did Jason do to piss you off? If I can ask,” Jake tacked on quickly, which was all that saved him from Nico’s ire.

“He’s an interfering busybody, and I’m getting sick of it,” Nico half-snarled. He was surprised at his own anger once the words left his mouth. He knew Jason meant well, but like Will, he seemed to think that Nico needed help managing his life and problems.

Percy didn’t, although a distant corner of Nico’s brain, the part that hated himself, whispered that was less Percy respecting his decisions than being oblivious to them.

Well, Nico thought viciously towards that part, Percy wasn't oblivious anymore.

“Oh yeah? What, did he try to cockblock you or something?” asked Jake. Nico had never heard that phrase before.

“Cock block?” Nico asked although he was pretty sure he knew what it meant.

“Yeah, like you’re trying to hook up with a girl, and he got in your way.”

Oh. Nico turned back to his work.

“Something like that. I need to focus now, so if you don’t mind.” Nico didn’t really, not if he went slow and steady like this, but he didn’t want to continue the conversation.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pick at anything,” Jake said genuinely apologetic enough that Nico’s remaining anger largely evaporated. “Mitchell’s always telling me I need to learn to keep my trap shut.”

“Mitchell?” Nico asked.

"Son of Aphrodite? About this tall? Super gay?”

Nico almost lost his footing.

“What?”

There was silence from Jake, and Nico gaped at him before dropping his eyes.

“You don’t have a problem with gay people, do you?” Jake asked slowly.

“What—no! I mean… I just didn’t know.” Nico swallowed noisily. He should have known; it wouldn't just be him, Will, and Percy. But like the idea that there were boys out there who weren’t Percy Jackson with whom he could fall in love it was self-evident and somehow earthshaking.

Jake was giving him a slow, measuring look. “Yeah, well, he is. Like, super gay. You know, people here are pretty cool about LGBT stuff—well, the Ares kids can be dicks, you know how they are, but they don’t mean any harm. Not if they don’t want Clarisse kicking their asses, right?”

It sounded like an invitation, but Nico wasn’t quite there yet. His sister and closest friends knew, anyone else… well, that could wait.

They lapsed back into silence as Nico finished digging out foundations to Jake’s specifications. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable although it was a bit awkward, and Nico left feeling better than he had when he’d started.

He went back to his cabin to shower and got ready for breakfast. His shower took longer than anticipated because he couldn’t stop thinking about Percy. Sleeping with Percy, touching Percy, the smell of Percy that still lingered on his clothes…

He masturbated before he got in the shower, and then somehow again when he was in the shower, but his libido was still burning when he set off to the dining pavilion for breakfast.

 

* * *

           

Nico forgave Jason by lunch if only because giving him the cold shoulder took more effort than it gave satisfaction. It had absolutely nothing to do with how Jason’s big, sad, baby-blue eyes got even bigger and sadder, and somehow bluer, behind his glasses. No one should ever have to stand up against that, and Nico had a newfound respect for Piper’s ability to resist Jason’s imploring, puppy-eyed gaze.

Also, he had bigger problems. Chiron had been making noise about Nico taking tests to determine the state of his education. It had been years since Nico was last in school, but it wasn’t like he’d been idle. Most of the knowledge he’d picked up in his years on his own wasn’t the sort to be used in the mortal world, but it was still knowledge! Besides, he could take care of himself, just like he'd been doing for years.

Plus, the idea of having homework again, or sitting in a classroom, irked him. School had never been difficult for Nico, that he remembered at any rate, but it wasn’t how he’d prefer to spend his time now. He knew enough to get by in the world; anything else was superfluous. Unless Chiron was offering a crash-course on modern culture, Nico just wasn’t interested.

So when Chiron ambushed him after lunch later that day, Nico was in no mood to stick around and listen.

“Mr. di Angelo!” There was no way he could ignore Chiron now. Nico turned around, plastering a mask of polite interest over his growing foreboding.

“We need to talk about your schooling,” said Chiron. He didn’t sound angry if anything he looked somewhat entertained. A wry chiding tone, as though he expected Nico to be quite a lot more sensible than he was currently being.

“All right, so talk,” said Nico, trying not to be as surly as he felt.

Chiron, with centuries of practice mollifying angry teenagers, politely pretended not to notice how grudging the invitation was.

“I’m still arranging for a couple more tutors, but it’s time you began attending classes.” The look Chiron gave him told Nico that his attempts to run around the whole enterprise hadn’t been quite subtle enough. On the other hand, Chiron was probably the only immortal Nico knew who wasn’t susceptible to mortal deceit.

Probably had something to do with taking care of hormonal demigod teenagers for thousands of years.

“Classes for what? I don’t need to learn anything that I’m not already pursuing on my own.”

“How can you know what you don’t need to learn if you don’t know it?” asked Chiron innocently.

“I don’t like school,” said Nico. This wasn’t strictly true, Nico liked school just fine, but he hadn’t had a good experience at a school in years.

“I designed the courses to take advantage of your natural talents,” said Chiron with only a hint of chiding to his tone. “You won’t be stuck in a classroom at a desk while someone lectures at you. Most of our lessons are hands on, or as otherwise interactive as we can make them. What’s more, they’re practical. It’s a much more compatible learning experience than what I'm sure you’re imagining.”

Nico mulled this over.

“New Rome has even been kind enough to send us several tutors to deal with the influx of year-round campers we’re having." Chiron paused to catch Nico's eyes. "Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated in setting a good example, especially for the younger campers who are joining us for the first time.”

“Oh. Well… okay then,” said Nico. Chiron had neatly dealt with all his objections, and honestly, the picture he painted didn’t sound that bad. It might even be nice.

“Good, I wasn’t looking forward to having to chase you down,” Chiron said with a little smile.

Nico bit back the retort that if he didn’t want to be found, then Chiron would never find him.

“Now, I did want to speak with you about something else,” said Chiron. “I heard your sister Hazel gave you the Helm of Darkness?”

“Yeah, she did,” said Nico.

“And it enables you to shadow-travel safely?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because there’s a quest that I believe you would be most suited towards,” said Chiron. “You know that amongst Jason’s duties as the Pontifex Maximus he has to find and honor the many scattered gods of Olympus? I think that your ability to travel through the shadows could be of great help on his quest. Come, let’s talk more about it in the Big House.”

 

* * *

 

Nico walked back to his cabin. In a few days, he and Jason (and Piper) were going to be embarking on a quest, albeit a relatively short one. With Coach Hedge busy raising a baby and Grover being Lord of the Wilds (whatever that meant) Nico hoped they didn’t get a bad guide. Some of the satyrs were… well, some were more reliable than others.

Once Nico was inside his eyes were drawn to the Helm sitting on his dresser, looming even in the darkness, as if affronted the cabin wasn’t quite dark enough.

Nico frowned at his cabin and remembered the elegant diadem that Hazel had been wearing. When she handed it to him, she’d shown him how to dampen down the fear aura, although she’d had to bind it for him first. Hazel’s experiences with magic made her more suited than almost anyone other than Annabeth for becoming a living god.

The Helm looked perfectly in place inside his cabin, where the aesthetic was a natural fit. But wearing the big spiky terrifying crown out and about wouldn’t do Nico any favors in the not-terrifying-his-fellow-campers department. Luckily, Hazel had also shown him how to adjust the Helm’s shape through the Mist.

Nico held the Helm of Darkness in his hands and concentrated. For a moment he missed his old bomber jacket, the helm would have made a great aviator’s cap. Now he wore black leather jackets or that one puffy monstrosity, and he’d seen the hats boys wore on their heads when it was winter. He concentrated on the idea of those beanies, something that would pass unremarked by any mortals or even immortals who couldn’t see beyond the magic.

The helm shrank down and softened until it became a black, knit beanie with a small white skull and UNDRWRLD THREDS stitched in silver thread just under it. Sometimes the Mist did odd things, but at least, this time, he could see it looked reasonably stylish. Not something he’d usually wear, but when needs must…

Now he could wear the helm around in public and pass through the shadows as much as he wanted.

He wondered what Percy was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, so I had a rough few weeks with a depressive episode, but now I seem to be coming up out of it, so let's try and get this show on the road again


	10. Chapter 10

Camp Jupiter

_What rises from the ruins of war? Nothing._

_Just as was intended. Just as we deserve_  

Reyna

Reyna tried not to sigh. She knew it hadn’t been Frank’s decision, but with him on Olympus acting in Poseidon’s stead the amount of work he could do as a Praetor was… lessened. So that meant that once again Reyna was working herself twice as hard as she should be.

At her feet Aurum and Argentum were curled up, resting. At least that was how they looked. She was fairly certain they didn’t actually need to rest. They did seem to enjoy it, though.

A whisper in the air made Reyna’s attention flick up from her desk. Silently a large, horned owl soared into the room. It landed on the back of one of the chairs in front of her and stared at her with wide, gleaming silver eyes.

“Hello, Annabeth,” Reyna said evenly.

“Hey, Reyna.” Hearing Annabeth’s voice in the air around her was a bit surreal, especially coming from an owl who had just closed his eyes and apparently settled in for a bit of a nap. “Rachel should be landing soon.”

“You could have texted that to me.”

“I wanted to speak face to face.” The owl slowly winked at her. “So to speak.”

“Still could have used one of your Iris messages,” Reyna said.

“It’s possible to intercept such messages if you know what you’re doing, and you’re strong enough,” said Annabeth. “Or at the very least track their length and points of origin. This is safest.”

“For security’s sake, maybe,” said Reyna. “But it’s not safe for you to use your powers this much.”

“I'm careful,” said Annabeth. Reyna made a note to ask Frank to keep an eye on her. Annabeth could take care of herself, but she was also brilliant, and Nico had told Reyna that Annabeth’s fatal flaw was hubris.

Intelligence and arrogance could be a dangerous combination.

“And this is relatively time-sensitive information.”

“About what?” asked Reyna.

“The prophecy and the thrones,” said Annabeth. “Leo says he should have finished with the new thrones in a few days, at which point Hestia will walk us through the reincarnation ritual. But we know it’s not going to work.”

“In Wisdom’s house there hides the key, to build the cage that sets them free,” Reyna recited dutifully.

“Exactly, and until we discover Wisdom’s House, we won’t be able to free the gods.”

“You want to find this key.” Reyna folded her hands together and stared hard at the owl.

“I think it cannot possibly hurt to consider the logistics of our inevitable search, yes,” said Annabeth.

“And what do you need from me?” Reyna asked.

“When Rachel and Ella start on their big project, I want you to ask them to go over the Apostate Prophecy.”

“Really?” asked Reyna. Analysis usually wasn't the Oracle’s job. An augur had to interpret, it was part of the job description, but an Oracle typically just channeled. And out of everyone who was qualified to interpret prophecy Annabeth had to be near the top of the list.

"Yes, I have—some concerns.” The little pause made Reyna’s eyes narrow.

“What do you think is going to happen?”

“Cursed by love and blessed by hate, right?” Annabeth said after a moment. “Two heroes are called, and I think I know who one of them is.”

“Who?”

“Percy.” Silence blanketed Reyna’s office for a moment.

“Explain your reasoning to me.”

“Percy swam in the Styx, the river of hate, and received its blessing,” said Annabeth. “And Aphrodite told him his love life would be… interesting. Cursed by love, and blessed by hate.”

“This would be his third time being the main subject of a great prophecy, wouldn’t it?” asked Reyna as she leaned back in her chair.

“Yes, which is part of what worries me. There’s power in threes, and…”

The owl’s beak clicked shut, as though Annabeth were afraid to finish her thought.

“You don’t think he’ll survive.” Reyna’s mouth was dry, but she forced the words out.

The owl’s silver eyes burned bright, a harsh and piercing light that bathed Reyna in the cold like she’d dunked her face in a glacier-fed river.

“I think that I’ll move heaven and earth before I let anything happen to him,” said Annabeth, her gray eyes hard like stone.

Reyna nodded in grim satisfaction. “You’re not the only one.”

“Then you’ll do it?”

“I can take steps,” Reyna said slowly. “I won’t flout the will of the gods or the Fates, but I agree with you, there’s no reason to be caught unprepared for the inevitable.”

“Excellent,” said Annabeth. “If only everyone else was as sensible as you.”

Reyna wondered how much of Annabeth’s perception of her sensibility was because they both came to similar conclusion. To be fair, they had a strong track record between them. In the short time, she’d come to know Annabeth Reyna had discovered she trusted her implicitly. Minerva was an important Roman goddess, but nothing compared to Athena, and Reyna had never met a child of Minerva who was like Annabeth. The utter and total disregard for the rules flying in the face of what she knew to be right was such a Greek trait, and Reyna should, by all rights, find it off-putting.

She didn’t.

“So… how are you doing?” asked Reyna.

“It varies from minute to minute, but even on average I’m mostly just tired,” said Annabeth. The owl fluffed its wings and preened, breaking eye contact with Reyna for the first time since it arrived. “Percy and Nico came by.”

“They did?” This was a bit tricky for Reyna. She wanted to ask how they were, if Nico was happy if the two of them were getting along well, but that seemed cruel to Annabeth. Reyna knew what it was like to have other people’s relationships rubbed in her face. She didn’t want to subject Annabeth to that. “Was that okay?”

“It was fine,” said the owl, a bit of disgust coloring Annabeth’s voice. “Honestly, it was more stressful dealing with other people’s anxieties than actually being around them.”

“Well, it’s good you guys are already getting back to being friends,” said Reyna.

“ _Thank you_. No one else seems to think so. It’s like, people can process their feelings and move past them, but only if they’re allowed to! And it’s like everyone thinks I have to be devastated by Percy forever and always! He’s the one who’s dealing with a crisis of sexuality and internalized homophobia! He needs support far more than I do!”

“How’s he doing with that?” asked Reyna. It seemed like a natural segue, and she was a bit worried. Camp Jupiter was a relatively accepting and supportive place, as much as any place devoted to war could be, but Reyna knew that didn’t mean much. Safety was in the eye of the beholder.

Percy’s attachment to Annabeth had been so deep it nearly overrode Juno’s spell, and so Reyna knew that his love for her was real. Whatever else was going on with Percy he had been deeply in love with Annabeth.

Of course, come to think of it, he’d nearly remembered Nico, too, when they met.

Either way, it seemed like Annabeth wanted to talk about Percy, rather than her own feelings. Reyna could, and would, respect that.

“He’s… I think he’s doing okay.” Annabeth’s owl shifted from foot to foot. “It can be hard to tell. He tends to keep his feelings wrapped up. Percy always speaks his mind, so most people don’t realize how much he hides. He seems okay, though, and he and Nico look—they looked happy.”

 “Good,” said Reyna firmly. She wanted to hear Percy was happy, but she was fiercely glad to hear Nico was happy. She’d bonded with the son of Pluto—or rather Hades—in their journey together, and she’d come to love him, like the prickly little brother she’d never had.

“I mean, I do have some mixed feelings,” Annabeth added matter-of-factly. “But it’s nothing overwhelming. I can handle it.”

“It can be hard, watching other people be happy,” Reyna offered. “You’re allowed to be a bit ambivalent about the whole thing.”

“You’re right,” said Annabeth. “You’re absolutely right. Thank you.”

Neither of them brought up how Reyna came by this knowledge. The ache in her heart, the loneliness, was still sharp, but of late it had been blunted by greater events. Now it still throbbed, but being able to share it with someone eased the pain.

"Anytime, Annabeth. Was there anything else?”

“Nope, all the god weapons, including Bessie, have been moved to secure locations. We have no real leads on Ravana and his apostate demigods, and no one has seen Enoch since he fled Olympus. The Old Beasts are roaming about and growing stronger, but they’re not quite apocalyptic.”

“They wouldn’t be, not yet.” Reyna frowned. “Have you read Revelations?”

“I’ve been refreshing myself,” Annabeth said. “And investigating some of the more apocryphal gospels. The gods aren’t given much to talking about their secret history, so it’s slow going.”

“Heaven forbid the gods make our lives easier,” said Reyna and Annabeth laughed.

“Thank you, Reyna,” she said. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome. It was good to speak with you, Annabeth.”

“It was nice to talk to you too, Reyna. Take care of yourself, okay? And say hello to Rachel for me.”

Annabeth’s owl flung itself up into the air, and flew off, quiet as a breeze.

Reyna sighed and moved to tidy up her papers when someone stepped through her door.

“And that’s my cue,” said Rachel Dare. Her white guide cane was tapping the floor before her.

“Oracle, how may Camp Jupiter serve you?”

“Well, I was thinking we could serve each other,” said Rachel cheerfully, but then paused. “Huh, that sounds kind of dirty. Anyway, I’m taking a semester off because you know,” she gestured at her eyes, “and I thought since you guys didn’t have an augur we had an opportunity for some, as my dad would say, corporate synergy.”

Rachel’s cane tapped the chair.

“Would you like a hand?” Reyna asked, trying to play the question as casually as possible.

“Yes, actually,” said Rachel. “I didn’t expect to be quite this blind.”

“You expected... of course,” Reyna amended as she came around the desk to help Rachel into her seat. Aurum and Argentum ears perked up, watching her.

“Right? Like I totally knew it was gonna happen,” said Rachel as Reyna helped settle her. “So I was kind of prepared—thank you—but I thought I was going to keep a bit more. I can barely see anything, not even colors or shapes.”

“Is there anything to be done?” asked Reyna, thinking about how much courage it must take to see your own injury, and forge ahead anyway.

“No, not really,” said Rachel. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I can’t see enough to paint, and that’s pretty upsetting." Rachel paused, her mouth twisting. "Sorry, I don’t normally vomit my feelings out like that.”

“Apology unnecessary,” Reyna told her. She looked down at her dogs, who were staring at her. “If you need any assistance getting around, Aurum or Argentum would be happy to help you.”

“Thank you,” said Rachel. “Annabeth told me I could trust you.”

A warm feeling spread over Reyna. “That’s—we’ve worked well together. I respect her.”

“I know,” said Rachel, and the little edge to her smile told Reyna that Rachel most likely knew entirely too much.

“So, how can I help you? Is there anything you need for working the Sybilline Prophecies?”

“Aside from meeting with Ella? Not really.”

“Oh.” Reyna was unsure, not a feeling she was accustomed to. Rachel’s knowing smirk set her on edge, for reasons she didn’t care to examine just now. “Then, what do you want?”

“Annabeth asked you to look into the Apostate Prophecy, just now,” said Rachel. It wasn’t a question, but Reyna still felt compelled to answer.

“She did,” said Reyna. “Is that dangerous?”

“No, not really,” Rachel said. “I mean, no more dangerous than life is for demigods as it stands. You won’t find anything in any case.”

“I won’t?”

“No,” said Rachel simply. “But when the prophecy begins to come true, you should be ready to move fast. Very fast.”

“Fast—where? For what?” Reyna sat upright, her mind shifting from relaxed to focused, from peace to war.

“I don’t know,” Rachel said with a shrug.

Aurum and Argentum didn’t stir, so Reyna at least knew that Rachel was telling the truth, even if the truth wasn't exactly palatable.

“Predestination’s a bitch, right?” said Rachel.

Reyna surprised herself by letting out a short bark of laughter. Rachel smiled at her.

“So, preparations,” Reyna said, getting back on track. “The ability to mobilize at speed? What scale are we talking?”

“It depends on how badly the Mist gets torn up,” said Rachel bluntly.

“The Mist?” Reyna was alarmed. “What’s wrong with the Mist?”

“Nothing, yet,” said Rachel. “But it’s under a lot of strain, and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”

"What happens if the Mist… tears?” asked Reyna.

“Little things at first, then gradually more and more,” said Rachel. “Monsters attacking mortals, mortals seeing through the Mist, that sort of thing. The Trimurti’s half of the Axis will probably remain stable, thought it might grow ragged around the edges, but the Western world would have to deal with monsters completely unrestrained for the first time in thousands of years.”

 “Jupiter’s beard,” Reyna swore. “This is just what we need.”         


	11. Chapter 11

Manhattan -- Percy’s Apartment 

_Do mortals truly need the gods, or is it the gods who need us?_

Percy

Percy had never really fought with his mom before. Although they weren’t exactly fighting, but for the first time in his life Percy was trying to tread carefully around her. Which he wasn’t very good at so he wound up spending a lot of time in his room. Mostly because when he wasn’t in his room he or his mom would always wind up fighting, no matter how innocuous their conversation started out. Their last fight had been when his mom had asked if he was done sulking yet and ready to come out of his room.

For one thing, Percy wasn't sulking. He was just... taking stock.

Either way, Percy didn’t like fighting with his mom, it made him sick to his stomach and amplified the restlessness itching under his skin. He’d taken to pacing in his room, feeling cooped up and caged, stifled. The weather was so atrocious there was no point in going out, and besides going to Olympus or bothering Rachel at her fancy boarding school he had no friends to see anyway.

He missed his friends, he missed joking with Grover, talking to Annabeth, competing against Jason, and snuggling with Nico. That last one he was discovering he missed a lot for something so new. Percy had worried he wouldn’t be able to match Nico’s feelings, the depths of his love for Percy that had developed over years, and he’d learned he couldn’t, at least not yet.

He also learned it didn’t matter. He liked Nico, a lot, and he trusted him, and those were the things Nico wanted from him. Well, that and the cuddles.

Physical affection was easy with Nico, but it had been easy with Annabeth too. Percy liked being touched, and the absence of someone to hold had him on edge, on top of everything else.

To make matters worse, he had no one to talk to. Nico and Jason were out of service on some quest or whatever, Grover was busy doing important nature things, and there was no way Percy would go to Annabeth right now. It wouldn't be fair to her to weigh her down with his problems, not anymore. Same for Rachel, especially since her problems were much larger than Percy’s, and Reyna, who already had too much on her plate.

Someone was knocking at the front door.

Percy perked up. Paul had a key, and he hadn’t heard his mom leave her room to buzz anyone in. Sure enough a moment later she called out to him.

“Percy, can you go see whoever that is?”

He was already halfway there. “On it.”

Percy opened the door expecting a delivery man, and instead found himself face to face with Calypso. Even bundled up under a bulky jacket with windswept hair she looked astonishingly beautiful.

“Hello, Percy,” she said almost timidly, her eyes darting back and forth down the hall. “May I come in?”

“Oh, yeah, of course! Come in,” he said and ushered her inside. “Uh, can I take your coat?”

“Yes, please, thank you,” she said and as Percy hung up her jacket she looked around the apartment. Something about the way she held herself made Percy think she was nervous, or at least unsure.

Knowing that the world outside of Ogygia was changing was one thing, actually seeing those changes had to be shocking. Like what happened to Nico multiplied a thousand times over.

“Percy? Who was that?” Sally stepped out from the alcove where she did her writing and Percy only had a split-second to make a decision: did he lie to his mom or not?

“Uh, mom, this is my friend, Calypso,” said Percy. “Calypso, this is my mom, Sally.”

“How nice to meet you,” said Sally. “Where do you two know each other from?” She was holding her hand out for Calypso to shake and Percy had a moment to panic and wonder if they shook hands thousands of years ago.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sally,” said Calypso. She took Sally’s hand and they didn’t shake so much as squeeze. “I met Percy when he fell out of the sky onto my island.”

“Oh did he?” asked Sally archly. They both looked at Percy who felt suddenly threatened. “Then I take it you’re _the_ Calypso, not just named Calypso?”

“Yes, I am,” said Calypso.

“Then it’s you I have to thank for that lovely plant in the kitchen,” Sally said, and Calypso’s eyes brightened.

“Yes, the Moonlace!” She smiled at Percy. “You kept it.”

“Of course! Usually it lives outside, but with the weather… and well, it’s not exactly a garden,” said Percy bashfully. “I mean, it’s hard to have a garden in Manhattan, unless you’re like really rich.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” said Calypso, laying a gentle hand on Percy’s shoulder. She wasn’t his biggest what-if anymore, but she was still inherently beautiful and naturally kind, and he still loved her for that.

“Well, I have to get back to work, if you two need anything just let me know,” said Sally. The look she leveled at Percy before she left said they would be talking later about inviting random goddesses over.

“Would you like the tour?” asked Percy and Calypso graciously agreed. She didn’t even seem to have to feign interest as Percy led her through the apartment, giving her an up-close view of life for the modern mortal. She asked questions and poked around and was genuinely curious.

They ended in Percy’s room, which he suddenly regretted not picking up because it was pretty sloppy looking. Calypso didn’t seem to mind, although Percy was pretty sure she was laughing at him when he quickly pulled up the sheets on his bed to give it the semblance of being made.

“So! It’s good to see you,” said Percy.

“Yes, you didn’t come by when your friends came to visit,” she said and Percy felt guilty.

“Yeah, we kinda cleared out after things got awkward.”

“Awkward?”

“I, uh, that is, I kinda broke up with Annabeth?” Percy offered the information so tentatively it was nearly a question.

“Yes, trust me, I’ve heard,” she said wryly. “Leo was very vocal with his surprise about the entire affair. Perhaps this is why you were so decisive when refusing my offer to stay on Ogygia.”

She was teasing him, Percy knew that, but he still wanted to defend his feelings, both for Annabeth and for Calypso. Also, because he had a sinking feeling she was right.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled and Calypso smiled kindly at him.

“I should like to meet the boy who has taken your affections,” said Calypso. “I know he is a son of Hades, and that is he “totes creepy” according to Leo, but I think there must be more to someone who has caught your eye.”

“Well, he can be a little creepy,” Percy told her matter-of-factly. “But he’s also loyal, and kind, and, like, really powerful, and he’s a huge nerd no matter how much he tries to pretend he’s not, and he’s pretty cute actually, especially when he’s sleeping… Hey! Why are you laughing?”

“I’m sorry!” said Calypso holding up a hand to cover her smile. “But your face lights up so much when you talk about your _paidika_.”

“Uh, I don’t know that one,” said Percy

“I suppose it’s not exactly an equivalent translation,” said Calypso a bit ruefully. “ _Eromenos_ might be more accurate. Still… better to call him your boyfriend, yes?”

Boyfriend. Was Nico his boyfriend? They’d never gone on the First Date, but did that matter? Probably not, or at least it shouldn’t.

Boyfriend. The word still felt unnatural, at least being used this way. Percy was used to being a boyfriend, not having one himself.

Calypso was watching him, as if she could read his thoughts. “He must be very special to have captured your heart.”

“Yeah, well, Nico’s a good guy,” said Percy with a shrug. “He’s helped save the world about as much as I have. Sometimes I think he’s saved me more often than I’ve helped him.”

“It sounds as though his love for you runs deep,” said Calypso. Then she sighed. “I fear it does not run so deep between Leo and me.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Percy. He wasn’t quite incredulous, but he was close. How could Leo not love Calpyso? Percy loved her so much he’d actually angsted about leaving her island to go save the world.

Or at least he’d convinced himself he’d loved her. She was beautiful and kind, but… well, Leo had loved her so much he’d flung himself into certain death on the chance he might get back to her. Percy had told himself he was tempted, but…

It was a lie, it was all a lie. Even if he liked girls and had truly been in love with Calypso, even if he had truly loved her more than Annabeth, loved her enough to let Nico be the focus of the prophecy, he would never have been able to abandon his mom.

Especially not now that he’d seen how much is absence had wounded her.

“It is just—I understand that he isn’t allowed to leave Olympus, and I agree with that, because it’s safer. But he doesn’t even seem to want to spend time with me. He’s always at his forge, hammering away and even then… we worked together, on the island. I am not incapable, but with his father’s power he has no need of assistance, and I feel as though I am only in the way.”

“Leo doesn’t need help? But even Hephastesus had helpers.”

“Leo has built himself many automatons,” she said. “All sizes and shapes, though most of them resemble scorpions, and they obey his every whim. I believe they were your… they were Annabeth’s idea.”

“Yeah, I saw them,” said Percy. Something in his tone made Calypso smile wryly at him.

“You still have feelings for her.”

“I mean, yeah! I love her.” He sighed. “I’m just not in love with her. Or whatever.”

Calypso tilted her head to one side. “You are exclusively drawn to other men?”

“I mean… that’s what it seems like.” Percy scuffed his shoe on the floor. “So, yeah, I guess I am.”

Calypso hummed thoughtfully.

“Perhaps…”

Percy waited but she didn’t finish her thought. “Perhaps what?”

“I heard that Ganymede was having a party with the Erotes,” she said. Percy was a little fuzzy on who the Erotes were and it must have shown on his face. “Aphrodite’s attendants.”

Oh good, love gods, Percy’s favorite.

“I think… I think I would like to go,” Calypso went on. Percy didn’t see what this had to do with him, but if Calypso wanted to explore the world then more power to her.

“Yeah, it sounds like a good time, you should have fun,” said Percy and Calypso smiled at him, still blindingly beautiful.

“I’m glad you think so because I was hoping you could come with me.”

Percy bit back a cough.

“I know Leo’s doing important work,” she continued, “but I’m finally off Ogygia and ever since then I’ve been stuck on Olympus, which isn’t much better! I want to see the world again now that I’m finally free.”

“Okay, but why do you need me?”

Calypso didn’t answer for a second. “Well, for one thing I don’t want to go alone, and for another you’re the only person I know aside from Leo who I trust not to have an agenda.”

“An agenda?” asked Percy.

“Yes, as I wish to make it clear that I am not going to be pawn in pantheon politics,” said Calypso, her jaw set. “I am a minor goddess because I wish to be. Just as a god can choose to Fade, so can they relinquish their power. I know why I was left alone on my island paradise-prison, and it is not because Zeus has some great well of mercy in his heart. I was left alive because I am of no consequence, and that is how I choose to be. But my father was Atlas and my mother was Tethys. I am a daughter of the Titans and grand-daughter of the primordial gods just as the Olympians are.”

Percy’s eyebrows had nearly risen up to his hairline. He’d never considered that before.

“Okay, so you want to make sure everyone knows you aren’t a threat, but how is bringing me to a party going to do that?” Mostly Percy really didn’t want to spend more time around gods, no matter which pantheon they came from. Especially if they were love gods.

“To go alone would be to signal that I am looking for an alliance, to go with another god would signal that I am _in_ an alliance. Taking a mortal, though, is…” Calypso trailed off meaningfully. “Well, many will make assumptions, and that is what I wish for them to do. A demigod is harmless, comparatively.”

The way Calypso said “assumptions” told Percy all he needed to know. They’d think he was her arm candy, to put it politely. Percy didn’t exactly enjoy being on display either, but he also wanted to help Calypso.

And getting out of the apartment sounded really good. All the same, Percy hesitated.

“I don’t know, my mom’s really unhappy with… all of this, right now. I’m kind of grounded.”

“Grounded?” asked Calypso, her brow furrowed.

“She doesn't want me leaving. I’ve…” Percy swallowed heavily, his eyes itching for a moment before he regained control of himself. “I’ve been gone a lot.”

Calypso was quiet for a moment.

“Yes, the gods have asked a great deal from you. I understand.” She stood up. “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Percy. Perhaps it is best if I left?”

"Well—wait, I didn’t mean you should go,” said Percy hurriedly.

“I’m not intruding?” she asked. “Your mother seems lovely, but if you’re spending time with her…”

“No, no, no,” said Percy. “I mean—yes, but I’m a little tired of it. Honestly, I’m kind of cooped up and I’d like to get out, I just don’t want to upset her.”

“Well… you could always just say you were visiting Olympus, couldn’t you?” asked Calypso, her eyes alight with a hint of mischief. “I can transport us there and back easily enough.”

“That… yeah, I guess that would work,” Percy mused. Now he was torn: to go out and finally _do_ something, or stay put and stay safe. To spend more time being smothered by his mother, or go with his friend and willingly subject his safety to the whims of gods busy partying.

It was not an easy decision, but the imploring look on Calypso’s face sealed the deal.

Percy sighed ruefully, Calypso making that face tilted the scales.

“You’ll come with me, then?” she asked happily.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Percy said. “Uh, I’m gonna need something to wear though, I think half my clothes are camp t-shirts.”

Calypso smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder, her artfully tousled hair smelled sweet and cascaded over him like a river of silk. “Thank you, Percy.”

Percy smiled, and wondered how Nico was doing on his quest with Jason and Piper.


	12. Chapter 12

Oregon – Crater Lake National Park

_The dog that bites first is not always the dog that bites last_  

Nico 

Sleeping outside wasn’t so bad, Nico reflected when you had decent weather and the proper equipment. In fact, it was almost pleasant. They had their inflatable pads to sleep on, comfortable sleeping bags, new tents, and Jason had chased off the light drizzle that might have come their way, so even the hike was pleasant.

In fact, everything seemed more enjoyable these days. Not like the air tasted sweeter, or the sun was always shining, but Nico’s baseline had shifted. His default wasn’t so dark anymore. He had friends, his own little family, and Percy Jackson was his boyfriend.

That last one could have kept him warm all on its own.

Dawn was in full swing, the horizon glowing bright although the sun was just barely peeking its head out. Nico unwrapped a granola bar and watched the sun rise over the pine trees. The world looked green and calm from this vantage point, damp with morning dew and thriving with life. No wonder Attis was hiding out here.

Most of the world was either freezing or on fire in terms of weather. Freezing winter had seemingly blanketed the world except for a fat band extending from the equator. There were spots of calm, and the Pacific Northwest as a whole was one of them. The bizarre weather patterns of intense cold and heat that afflicted the east coast didn’t seem to exist here.

Since they were looking for Attis, a god of nature and renewal, it made sense that this was where the trail had led them.

Attis was actually a god who had been brought into the Greek mythos from another pantheon. The symbolism of tracking him down first had been Hestia’s motivator for selecting him, and as Apollo pointed out they might as well go alphabetically so feelings weren’t hurt. Apollo conveniently forgot that gods further down the alphabet would still take offense, but that was a bridge they would cross when they came to it. First they had to find Attis.

All the strange weather was wreaking havoc with nature gods of all stripes. Grover apparently had his hands full coordinating efforts to deal with the mess, because according to Percy he hadn’t been able to visit.

Nico smiled. Just thinking about Percy made his heart warm.

“Urgh.” Jason had just emerged from their ten, looking dazed and groggy.

“Morning,” Nico said and offered him a granola bar. “Breakfast?”

Jason grunted something that could charitably be considered a greeting, waved off the granola bar, and wandered away into the trees.

Nico shrugged and went back to munching.

Only a few weeks ago, a couple of months really, that interaction might have gone very differently. Whatever it might have been, now it was comfortable, easy even. If Jason hadn’t been there when they’d gone to get the scepter… Hazel had shown him a door, Jason had toed it open, and Reyna had walked him through it. He loved them all, even if they were terrible morning people—namely they were entirely too awake entirely too early.

Typically Nico wasn’t much of a morning person either, so he couldn’t really empathize. But he was still riding the high of spending the weekend at Percy’s, and being with Percy in general. Waking up to face the day was very different when it was a day where he was dating Percy Jackson.

For one thing it was hard to keep the smile off his face. He knew it what it felt like, now, to love Percy and to be loved by him. To wake up curled in Percy’s arms, his green eyes soft in the morning light as he smiled at Nico.

There was nothing better, not in all of creation, Nico was convinced.

Which made this quest a bit frustrating. Nico’s ability to shuttle them around beat out most other modes of transport, and since they were to be tracking wayward gods and immortals they needed the mobility shadow-travel offered. Except that all Nico wanted to do was shadow-travel into Percy’s bedroom.

“Granola bars? For breakfast?” boomed a loud woman’s voice. “You need more than just sugar and carbs for breakfast, kiddo!”

And then there was Linda. Linda was a satyress, which wasn’t actually a thing, or rather it hadn’t been before they were invented in the Renaissance. Satyrs were historically always male, but when Linda was born she didn’t feel male. However, when Dionysus had offered to transform her into a nymph, as he had done in the past for other satyrs, and vice versa, Linda had a different idea. She refused, and said her body was her body. Dionysus had shrugged, then said, “whatever floats your boat,” and ever since then Linda had been the first official satyress.

Linda also happened to have, like most satyrs, an outsized personality. Where Coach Hedge had been a real firecracker and Grover a somewhat neurotic coward, Linda was like the lovechild of a heavy artillery drill sergeant and Anna Wintour. Ready to rumble while still being totally on point.

At least she was reasonable, after a fashion.

“Morning, Linda,” Nico said placidly. He offered her a granola bar. “Breakfast?”

Linda snorted and batted the bar out of his hand. “You got some bronze ones on you, kiddo, I’ll give you that. Gimme a few minutes, and I’ll get some eggs going. Once you get that fire built back up.”

Nico sighed and went to uncover the still burning embers from last night’s fire. While Linda rummage around in her big pack of supplies Nico nurtured the fire back to life. He fed little bits of paper and fluff, which caught fire almost immediately on the coals. Then it was twigs and other kindling until finally he’d tossed a couple tree branches on and the fire was burning steadily.

“Now, you ready for one of my famous Denver Omeltets?” asked Linda, brandishing a cast iron pan like a weapon. To be fair, it could easily be used as one.

"Sounds good,” he said. Food he didn’t have to cook himself was automatically food he was interested in eating. Some of his old instincts from fending for himself died hard, and some of them he didn’t see any reason they should. Being an unfussy eater had saved his life, a couple of times quite literally.

He shook his head clear of such memories. Being stuck in that jar, wondering if he’d ever get out, still reeling from Tartarus…

But he was here, now, on this hillside watching the sun come up. Hazel was safe and happy, he had friends, and he had Percy. Nico had literally walked through hell to get where he was, and the reward was everything he’d ever dreamed about and more.

The tent behind him rustled. Piper was waking up.

A moment later she stuck her head out. Her hair, wild and a bit untamed at the best of times, was a real catastrophe.

Nico covered his smile by taking another bite of his granola bar.

“Hey, Nico,” she croaked.

“Morning, Piper.”

“Where’s Jason?” asked Piper.

Nico frowned. Jason had been gone longer than usual.

“He went to….” Nico gestured vaguely. Piper just looked at him, eyes foggy with sleep. “You know what I’ll just go check on him, make sure he’s okay.”

“Thanks, Nico.” Piper yawned. “Is that breakfast I smell?”

“Yeah,” Nico said, slowing just enough mid-stride not to be rude. “Linda’s making eggs.”

“Denver Omelets,” Linda bellowed up at them. If any monsters were nearby, they wouldn’t be confused as to their whereabouts. “No ham for yours, Piper!”

Piper thanking Linda was the last thing Nico heard before he hit the treeline.

He looked around, frowning. No sign of Jason.

“Jason?” he called. “Jason, can you hear me?”

There was no response, just a stillness that made Nico’s skin crawl the longer it went on.

He started forward, figuring maybe Jason wanted a bit more privacy. Hoping.

“Jason!” he shouted. Then he stopped short.

Black scorch marks in the earth and scored across the trunks of trees. Furrows in the dirt and detritus of the forest. Broken branches still bleeding sap.

No sign of Jason, just a struggle. A quick search confirmed his fears. Jason was gone, and he hadn’t gone quietly.

Nico’s mounting sense of panic drove him to sprint back to their camp. He burst through the trees and pulled up in front of their tents. Piper took in his face, and her kaleidoscope eyes flashed with panic.

“Someone took him,” gasped Nico. Piper staggered to her feet, trying to buckle her sheath on and slip into a jacket at the same time.

“What did you find?” asked Linda, all brisk business.

Nico held up his hand as he grabbed the Helm and yanked it over his head without a word. He stepped into the shadows, down through the world into Hades.

He emerged in the courtyard of his father’s palace.

“Mrs. O’Leary!” Nico waited for the echoes of his shout to fade and listened. He frowned, where was she?

“I’ve tied all the hell hounds up.” Nico stiffened and spun around. Persephone stood behind him, looking un-amused. “It’s not safe for them to be roaming the shadows with the Old Beasts slouching roughly about creation’s underbelly again.”

“I know, that’s why I came here,” said Nico. “Please, I need a hellhound, my friend has been taken, and we have to track him.”

“Which one?” asked Persephone

“What?” Nico goggled at her. Of all the responses he'd expect that question was not one of them.

“I said, which friend?" replied Persephone with a look that reminded Nico he v hated being transformed into a plant.

“Why does it matter?” Nico bit off the rest of his retort. Talking back to Persephone was ordering a one way to ticket to corn-town. “Jason. It’s Jason Grace.”

“Oh!” Persephone’s form flickered as elements of her Proserpina aspect came to the fore. “That dashing young Praetor? Well, all right then. But it’s not safe for even a hellhound of Mrs. O’Leary’s size.”

Nico raised his eyebrows. Mrs. O’Leary was one of the larger hellhounds he’d ever seen, excepting Cerberus of course.

Persephone raised her fingers to her lips and blew. Whatever whistle she made Nico couldn’t hear.

What he could hear a moment later was a set of massive thundering thumps, like a sports stadium, was galloping toward them. Before Nico could properly react a hellhound bounded over the wall and skidded to a halt before them. If Mrs. O’Leary was the size of a tank, then this dog was the size of a semi-truck, almost half the size of Cerberus. Unlike Mrs. O’Leary he had a mottled gray muzzle and white hairs flecked throughout his midnight black coat. He possessed the air of a distinguished gentleman, at least as much as a dog could have such an air. His tail was wagging, and blowing over the skeletal servants trying to tidy up after him.

“I don't believe that you’ve met Mr. Beauregard,” said Persephone, patting the hellhound’s tree-trunk-like legs fondly. Nico agreed, he would have remembered a hellhound this size. “He’s one of our eldest hellhounds. The Old Beasts aren’t quite strong enough to disregard someone his size, though soon only Cerberus will be able to stave them off.”

Persephone’s attention seemed to drift. Nico’s didn’t, Jason was missing, and he had to find him.

“Thank you, Lady Persephone, thank you so much,” he said as he clapped and caught the hellhound’s attention. “Mr. Beauregard, please come with me. I need your help tracking a friend.”

The dog whuffed, a noise nearly strong enough to bowl Nico over, and nudged Nico with a nose that Nico could probably sniff Nico up on accident. Nico put his hand on his sword and let the darkness swallow him and his new companion.

Whoever, or whatever, had taken Jason was in for a world of hurt.


	13. Chapter 13

Olympus – Hephaestus’s Workshop 

_Show no fear_

_You cannot master a knife trick if you are not willing to bleed_

Leo

Normally Leo didn’t work when he was angry. At least he tried not to, most of the stuff he did was too delicate for him to be anything less than calmly deliberate. On a quest, out in the field, he had to work in all kinds of conditions, and frequently while scared of his imminent demise, but in the workshop, he could control his surroundings and his mood. Or at least what he did when he was in a mood.

Thankfully sometimes there was a job that just required brute force, or a lot of pounding, that he could use to work out his aggression. Super-heating ores to make magical alloys was a good task to funnel his anger, and energy, into. Especially since as a living god he didn’t even need to use fire, he could just imbue any given substance with raw heat.

Besides, the sooner he finished preparations on the thrones, the sooner they could free the gods, and he could go back to his girlfriend.

They were nearly completed as it was. The marble slabs towered over Leo as he worked at the forge. They had also begun to radiate an intense cold. Leo wasn’t any kind of scientist, but some of Hestia’s instructions had him making really tiny things, machines the size of dust, and in turn, they made even smaller machines, and Leo had a suspicion it was all getting a bit quantum.

Either way, the cold of the thrones met the heat of the forge and filled the air with static. So Leo had outfitted the scorpions with little grounding rods they used to passively suck electricity out of the air. They seemed happier feeding that way, which was always fun. They weren’t alive, but they weren’t exactly non-sentient objects either.

Piles of un-smelted adamant ingots were haphazardly stacked around the workplace, with the robots depositing more every moment. Leo had far more than he’d ever need and was pondering what to do with the rest. He had a limited time to make use of his father’s gifts, and he planned to do as much as he could in that time span.

Well, he and Annabeth planned. The question of who, exactly, was in charge had been left largely alone in favor of Annabeth directing their efforts on Olympus, and Reyna taking care of things on the ground. That wasn’t to say the rest of them didn’t have input, and technically Frank was the highest ranked of all the living gods given that he was both hosting Poseidon and was a Praetor.

But Annabeth had a vision, one that Leo embraced. A vision of productivity, and making life easier for demigods forever after. The cellphones and texting were only the beginning.

Unfortunately, this vision required Leo to work his fingers off while ignoring his amazingly attractive goddess of a girlfriend. At least he didn’t have to worry about Percy putting the moves on his girl while she went to her big party.

Talk about surprises! Percy and Nico… he had to admit, he hadn’t seen that one coming. To be fair, he’d spent most of his time in their company worried about his imminent prospects for survival. And Calypso, of course.

Jason sure got all starry-eyed around them too, which was pretty of funny. It cast their interactions after that little trip the two of them took in clearer light. Knowing that Nico had been outed to Jason by Cupid… well, Leo had developed a lot of sympathy for the kid. He’d known lots of queer kids in the system, and they were just like everyone else: screwed up and doing their best. Life dealt those kids a worse hand than most, and Leo could empathize with that.

Also, there’d been a couple times he’d wondered. He liked girls (he _definitely_ liked girls), but there’d been some dreams and wayward boners that told him while that door was closed it wasn’t exactly locked.

Not one he planned to open if he didn’t have to, though. And since his girlfriend was a literal goddess he really didn’t plan to.

Leo scowled. He knew Calypso was having a hard time being trapped on Olympus. He’d told her to go and at least explore New York, which finally the other day she’d done.

Only apparently she’d gone to visit Percy and ask him to take her to some divine party that Ganymede was throwing because Zeus wasn’t around. Intellectually Leo knew Percy wasn’t a threat. Not only had Percy had his shot, but he'd also blown it because he was gay so there would be no future shots.

But Calypso had fallen in love with him. Hell, pretty much every demigod girl Leo had met except Piper was halfway in love with Percy Jackson. Leo even had his suspicions about Clarisse and her particular brand of antagonism, though he’d never share them out loud.

For one thing, Clarisse would _totally_ cream him.

He was definitely gonna tell Piper though. Once she and Jason got back, of course. Leo was pretty sure that he and Piper were the only two people in their group of friends who hadn’t entertained a crush on Percy at some point. He wouldn’t say Jason had a crush either, but he and Percy had a bond, both of them Praetors, sons of the Big Three, natural leaders, and experienced warriors. A natural born bromance at the least, a more organic connection than any Leo shared with Jason.

It was easier to not feel inadequate when he focused on the work. He’d never get a chance to do any of this again, so best make the most of it.

He hoped his father would be proud.

Someone was entering the workshop. Leo couldn't see them or hear them over the noise of his work, but he had an intuitive awareness of everything in the workshop, including people--or living gods in this case.

“What’s up, Frank?” Leo called over his shoulder. “Don’t you have Praetor stuff to be doing with your Romans?”

“Reyna and Annabeth seem to be taking care of everything,” said Frank as he came to stand just behind Leo. “Not really much to do other than stand around and look official with those two in charge."

Poseidon apparently didn’t really have many duties, not like Hermes, or Apollo, for example. As a god and king of one third of creation, or at least the section of it that the Greek pantheon controlled, Poseidon maintained certain forces just by existing, and had lesser gods ruling over the rest of his domain in his name. All of this meant Frank got to spend his time just hanging out, as opposed to Leo who was pretty much working night and day.

Also, Annabeth and Reyna were practically a force of nature. Everyone knew they were running the show, even Clarisse although she'd deny it up and down if anyone asked.

“So, you need something?” asked Leo after a couple minutes of Frank nearly looming over him. If Frank needed Leo to make something then he could get in line, Leo had phones to make and an Iris messaging prism to invent, and of course the Thrones required constant attention and maintanence, not to mention the periodic requests he got from the gods which he typically had to drop everything to address immediately. Even if Apollo had no powers Leo knew better than to make an enemy of him--also he seemed like a bit of a spoiled brat and Leo could only imagine the kind of tantrum he'd throw if Leo didn't treat him as though he were still a fully-fledged god.

“Yeah, I do." Frank broke up Leo's train of thought.

Leo looked up with a sigh.

“What is it? I’m already stacked to the limit if it’s not urgent you’re going to the back of the line.”

“It’s somewhat urgent, maybe more than I thought, actually.”        

“Dude, don’t be vague and mysterious. It works for Rachel, on anyone else it’s just annoying. What do you need?”

“For you to take a break.”

Leo paused and turned to look at Frank. “What—is this a joke?”

“No, it’s not. You’re working too hard. It’s been at least a day since you slept. You’re going to burn yourself out.”

“Maybe if I kept this up for months or even weeks. But it’s only for a few more days, a week at the most. I check in with Will every day. I’ll be fine.”

“You mean you’re supposed to check in with Will every day,” said Frank and Leo cursed internally. The jig was up. “Which Will was really surprised to hear when I asked how you were doing.”

“Well, see, the thing is,” Leo began. Then he quailed at the look Frank shot him. Since when was Frank scary?

“Annabeth is doing it too!”

Frank crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at Leo. “Who do you think I just checked with about how necessary your visits to Will are?”

“Ugh, fine, in a minute,” Leo grumbled. If Annabeth had thrown him under the bus he’d be having a word with her. She was the one who gave him half his workload!

“You don’t have to prove anything, you know.”

“What?” Leo asked, honestly confused.

“I mean…” Frank was shifting back and forth on his feet. Leo hadn’t seem him look so uncertain since his big change. “You’ve just been taking on an awful lot, you know, right after you risked certain death?”

“Piper already talked to me about it,” Leo said, which strictly speaking wasn’t a lie. Piper hadn’t done much talking. She had done a lot of yelling though. A little crying too.

So had Leo, not that anyone needed to know.

“Okay, but if you need to talk to anyone else, we’re here for you,” Frank said.

Given how his earlier relationship with Frank had been Leo felt this was pretty generous.

“Thanks, but I’m totally copacetic,” Leo informed him as he twitched his finger at a scorpion. It delivered a heavily runed gear to him and he gently fit into the formation before him, and watched as the celestial bronze melted into pure marble blocks.

“That’d be more believable if we weren’t both living gods,” Frank told him, his voice almost gentle, or coaxing.

Leo let loose a shaky breath. It had been too much too hope that their new powers would keep Frank from making an accurate assessment of his mood.

“Dude, I don’t….” Leo took a deep breath. “It was so easy, on Ogygia, you know? The two of us, just working on Festus, and nobody else. Now… she’s a goddess. A superhumanly beautiful, immortal goddess. Once we bust the gods out and our powers go away… What future could we possibly have together?”

“Have you talked with Calypso about this?”

“No.” He hadn’t brought it up on the island, and he hadn’t brought it up on Festus while they cruised through the Mist.

“You should.” Frank caught Leo’s gaze. “Delaying things only leads to hurt feelings, you gotta come clean about your feelings.”

Leo blinked. Something about Frank’s tone… “Are you and Hazel okay?”

“We are now,” said Frank wryly. “We had some stuff to talk through. Also, I kind of put my foot in my mouth about Nico and Percy with her.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that?” Leo would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about whatever it was Frank didn’t feel comfortable talking about, but Frank had been very clear and Leo would respect that.

Leo hadn’t always given Frank the respect he was due. Now he would, or at least he’d give it his best shot.

“Apparently I was sympathizing with Annabeth too much,” Frank said with a sigh. “I just thought it had to be really hard on her, seeing the two of them be so… coupley.”

“You’d think,” said Leo dryly. He was surprised, but also pleased, to find Frank on his side of the Percy-Annabeth debate. “Their PDA-levels were off the charts, they practically had little red cartoon hearts floating around their heads. I almost gagged at least twice.”

“Right?” Frank burst out. Leo hadn’t realized Frank felt so strongly about this. “I mean, it’s one thing for Percy to realize he’s gay or whatever—and good for him I’m happy for him—and start dating Nico, but it’s another to rub it in Annabeth’s face!”

“No, I totally get you.” Leo surreptitiously fingered a socket wrench. “Lemme guess, Hazel didn’t appreciate you not putting Nico’s happiness before anything else?”

“She wasn’t that bad,” said Frank. He said it grudgingly though. “She did make it clear that since Annabeth said she was fine with them that they should be as lovey-dovey as they want.”

“Lovey-dovey, eh?” Leo grinned. “Yeah, they got that down pretty well. I have to admit I never thought I’d see that guy not being incredibly creepy, but when he’s staring at Percy all wooby-eyed and pink it’s pretty hilarious.”

“Yeah, Nico can be scary when he wants to be,” said Frank. “But, honestly, so can Percy.”

“Really?” Leo didn’t even try to keep his disbelief hidden. “I mean, I know he’s got a mean look when he’s fighting, but he’s not any stronger than, like, Jason.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Frank. “I mean, of the three of them, who would you be the most scared to fight?”Nico,” said Leo. “Hands down. That kid is

"Nico,” said Leo. “Hands down. That kid is _creepy_.”

“Right, me too,” said Frank. “But, Nico says that Percy is the strongest demigod he’s ever met.”

“Yeah, but he’s also totally in love with the guy,” said Leo. “That’s a pretty heavy bias.”

“True.” Frank’s mouth twisted into a mild grimace.

“Look, I’ve heard all the hype about Percy Jackson, and he definitely lives up to the whole being a genuinely good guy bit, but he’s, you know…” Leo tried to find his words. It wasn’t that Percy wasn’t special, he just wasn’t unique. “We’re all demigods with cool powers, and he seems like a normal dude, you know, for the given value of demigod normalcy. I was expecting more from the hype.”

“Well, you realize that we’re also not exactly normal demigods, right?” asked Frank. “We’re the Seven, and most people don’t have powers like ours.”

“Fair point.” There was a pause. “You know who _did_ live up to the hype?”

“Who?”

“That Reyna chick,” Leo said.

“Yeah, she does that,” said Frank with a faraway look tinged with a heavy amount of admiration. Then his face resolved into something more concerned. “You know, you don’t have to be in a relationship.”

“What?” Leo was almost stymied at the non sequitur.

“I just mean… you’re worried about Calypso, but you know… I mean she’s a goddess. If you’re not dating someone it’s okay.”

“That’s easy to say when you have a girlfriend,” Leo muttered.

“That’s fair,” Frank said. “Just wanted you to know that you’re worthwhile on your own.”

“Okay, thanks for the unsolicited pity,” Leo grumbled.

“It’s not pity,” Frank snapped and then sighed. “When you—when we thought you were dead it wasn't… Look, I know that Hazel, Piper, and Jason want you to be happy, but the rest of us are just happy you’re alive. You get that, right? We thought you died, and we mourned you.”

Leo took a gasping breath. He’d known that in a distant way that didn’t weigh on him, even with Piper and Jason’s greeting. It was a heavy thing to confront his decisions in light of his friends’ affection. In fact, Leo could barely envision his potential sacrifice once he considered it from the framework of a grander sacrifice: his friends’ suffering.

He’d been so focused on defeating Gaea, and the inevitability of his own demise—because the alternative had been _Jason_ and he couldn’t let that happen, not when Jason and Piper were so happy together and so much better than Leo was…

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Leo said, and he tried to be flippant but he knew his wobbly tone gave him away.

Frank didn’t seem daunted by all that though. In fact he looked like he was going to press the issue with Leo and talk about _feelings_ and all that.

Salvation came in an unusual and borderline unwelcome form.

“Hey! Valdez!” Indra had materialized in the workshop, looking sloppy and flushed as per usual. “I got a problem for ya—I need new strings.”

“Well, if Lord Indra needs my help,” Leo said indicating he was helpless to resist.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” said Frank ominously. Leo realized he could only avoid this conversation for so long. “I’ll be back, and we’ll talk—or I’ll send Hazel.”

“Low blow,” Leo grumbled. Bringing out Hazel was like deploying a secret weapon—they all loved her to pieces. Her concern was an unstoppable force, and Leo knew his own reluctance was decidedly not an immovable object.

“I know, but we’re worried about you,” Frank said, gentler now.

“Well, _I_ don’t know what I’m doing with these medium gauge strings.” Indra looked significantly at Leo. “I need light gauge if I’m gonna thrash.”

Leo sighed. Time to learn how to make guitar strings.


	14. Chapter 14

 Ibiza – Club Sitra 

_Do not mistake power for strength_

Percy

Calling Nerites for fashion advice had been the right decision, but Percy was still regretting it. Once again he was wearing a shirt that exposed entirely too much of his chest, and pants far tighter than felt comfortable. But the fact of the matter was that he couldn’t afford clothes this flashy, and he had no other option.

And he also knew nothing about fashion.

“Stop pulling at yourself, Percy,” said Nerites, batting Percy’s hands away from his crotch with no sense of propriety. Sometimes Percy wasn’t sure if Nerites was attracted to him, or attempting to be paternal, which coming from a boy younger than him was a bit surreal. “It’s unseemly.”

“My pants are too tight,” hissed Percy. “ _Again_.”

“Beauty is pain, deal with it,” said Nerites.

Percy scowled at him, but he was unmoved.

“Here, Percy.” Calypso’s cool, smooth fingers turned him to face her. She touched his jeans, and the Mist rolled over the stitching, and suddenly he was a lot more comfortable. “Honestly, Nerites, there’s no need to torment him so.”

“If you say so,” said Nerites. Percy made a face at the back of his head. “Come along then, if you’re done making alterations. We want to be fashionably late, not obnoxiously late.”

“Where are we going, anyhow?” asked Percy.

“The only place anyone who’s anyone goes to party,” said Nerites. “Not many mortals visit Club Achra more than once, Percy. You’re joining a rather select group.”

_Oh joy,_ thought Percy. “So, we’re going to Lucifer’s? Do Olympians usually party there?”

“Usually? Not really. Certainly not this many all at once, but this is Ganymede’s one big shot.” Nerites examined his cuticles, looking for flaws.

“One big shot?” asked Percy.

“At seducing Lucifer.”

Percy’s mouth worked, but nothing came out.

“I do remember the Morningstar being very handsome,” said Calypso with a little sigh. Percy had to agree, although he typically didn’t look at dudes—oh.

Right.

He didn’t need to think like that anymore. It still caught him by surprise. So, with that in mind…

Lucifer was hot. Amazingly hot. Unbelievably hot. Possibly even unbearably hot. His olive skin, high cheekbones, delicate features, and dark eyes framed by long, dark eyelashes strode the line between handsome and beautiful, embracing both and giving ground to neither.

“Ganymede, he’s Zeus’s cupbearer, right?” asked Percy.

“Yeah, the Royal ‘Cupbearer,'” Nerite drawled. “Such an innocent sounding title, much better than Royal Catamite.”

Percy wasn’t sure what a catamite was, but it didn’t sound nice.

“You’ve become so bitter, Nerites,” said Calypso reprovingly.

“… Right.” Nerites sighed heavily. “You don’t know. I mean, why would you? I’m sure whatever news you got on that island didn’t include—anyway, Aphrodite kind of ripped out my heart both metaphorically and somewhat literally and so yeah. I can be a little snarky.”

“Love gods are the worst,” said Percy and Nerites smiled at him, looking almost surprised at himself for doing so.

“A pox on the Olympians,” said Calypso suddenly. “They are bound in their thrones, but we are here, and we are free.”

Percy smiled at her and reminded himself tonight was about Calypso. But even Nerites was looking better now.

Screw the gods! Well, except the ones sitting right next to him.

It was time to try and have a little fun, or at least work off some energy.

 

* * *

 

They spent a few minutes in Club Sitra while Calypso stared about in fascination at the mortals dancing. She seemed especially interested in the lights and sound systems. Apparently mortals partying in the present versus the distant past weren’t very different.

However, when they entered Club Achra, they were instantly the focus of every immortal in the room.

“Nerites!” A blond haired boy no older than Percy walked toward them. He was beautiful, although his brittle smile put Percy too much on edge to enjoy taking in the scenery. Whoever he was, he wasn’t happy they were there. “And Calypso! What a _pleasant_ surprise!”

“Ganymede,” drawled Nerites. “Finally mustered and mounted enough courage to slip your leash I see. Have you snared the Morningstar yet? Or does he not find your… mounting prospects all that desirable?”

Ganymede’s face went white with anger.

“Dude,” said Percy reprovingly. “Nerites, what’s your problem?”

“I wasn’t invited,” said Nerites turning his nose up.

“And you know damn well why ” Ganymede hissed. “I invited the Erotes, and you can’t be in the same room as them without starting a tantrum—“

“A _tantrum_?” Nerite practically shouted.

“—Like a petulant child or a scorned lover,” said Ganymede and Nerites went white.

Percy didn’t have time to panic because all of a sudden a mountain of a man with broad, mid-growth antlers was standing between them. He pulled both boys back with great big, brawny hands, colossal by comparison to Ganymede and Nerites’ slender, boyish shoulders.

“You’re making a scene,” said the horned god in a low voice. He was somewhat gentler with Nerites than Ganymede. “You want to go back to the bar, Ganymede. The Morningstar’s attention has wandered now that Xochipilli has found him.”

Ganymede sniffed and adjusted his top. “Fine. Stay away from Eros and Anteros, Nerites, if you know what’s good for you.”

As he walked away, Nerites made a rude gesture at his back.

“Nerites, you haven’t introduced us,” the horned god prompted, looking slyly at Percy and Calypso.

Nerites sighed.

“Calypso, Percy, this is Cernunnos, Lord of the Wilds and perpetually in springtime rut.”

Cernunnos waggled his eyebrows and Percy sniggered.

“Cerne, this is Calypso, recently returned to Olympus from her island paradise-prison of Ogygia. And this is Percy Jackson, one of the demigods I told you about.”

“My lady,” said Cernunnos bowing to take Calypso’s hand and brushing his lips across the backs of her fingers.

“Cousin,” she said coolly, and he laughed, stepping back with a little nod. Then he straightened up, and he was very tall indeed, before turning his attention to Percy. A shiver passed over Percy’s spine at the leer that lurked in the horned god’s eyes.

“Percy Jackson, I’ve heard a great deal about you in the last few years,” said Cernunnos. The smirking look that roved up and down Percy’s body made him feel distinctly uncomfortable, partially because Cernunnos was really, _really_ good-looking, if a bit older than Percy usually thought about. Muscles for days, and a woody, smoke-filled scent that had enough spice to it Percy found himself wanting to breathe deeper. It reminded him of camping in the woods, of the fire at night and singing war songs around it, the ones that Chiron never let them sing when the younger kids were still awake, kissing Annabeth in the light of the campfire …

“Only good stuff, though, right?” asked Percy. Cernunnos laughed, a great booming sound that nearly made Percy step back.

“You’ve got a warrior’s soul, boy,” he said clapping Percy roughly on the back, nearly bowling him over. “You should come riding with me, sometime.”

He squeezed Percy’s shoulder, and Percy could feel the divine strength in Cernunnos’s grip even as he also felt how carefully restrained that strength was. The only god who’d ever touched him like that was his father, and Percy felt a curious yearning he didn’t want to examine too closely.

“Fate’s grace, Cerne,” Nerites groaned into his hands. “Can you at least _try_ not to flirt in front of me?”

Percy hadn’t noticed any flirting, but the unrepentant look on Cernunnos’s face told the story clear enough.

“Say the word and you’ll have my full attention,” Cernunnos said, turning back to Nerites, who refused to meet his eyes.

“You know I can’t do that,” Nerites told him quietly.

Percy could sense drama, and with gods drama usually meant disaster.

Literally.

“Percy, perhaps you’d like to show me around?” asked Calypso, her eyes widening meaningfully at him. Percy played along.

“Oh sure, I’m great at giving tours,” he said, and they made their escape. “Especially places I’ve only been once.”

“I don’t think much of a tour is required,” said Calypso wryly. “The concept hasn’t changed overmuch since I last roamed the world, merely the execution.”

“I guess a party is pretty much always a party,” said Percy and she smiled at him. He smiled back, marveling at how pretty she was, and a curious, creeping embarrassment about how he’d never put it all together. “Even when it’s for gods.”

“Oh, especially when it’s for gods.”

Percy turned in unison with Calypso.

Lucifer was standing before them, smiling. His sable eyes glimmered with heat, like a fire burned just behind his irises, and his pouty lips the dark, seductive color of a fresh-cut fig. He was as beautiful as Percy remembered. “Percy Jackson, a pleasure to see you again. And you, Calypso, dear cousin, it has been an age.”

“Indeed it has, Morningstar,” said Calypso evenly. Percy wondered if all of this was going to be mingling and divine small talk, so far it didn’t seem all that difficult, just tedious. “I am pleased to be out and about again.”

“Imprisoning you was a fool’s decision. Zeus is an arrogant, posturing beast who creates just as many enemies as he vanquishes,” said Lucifer. The conversations around them stumbled. “Someone should really do something about him.”

“Someone should do something about all of you,” muttered Percy in a voice he thought was quiet enough to pass notice.

It didn’t.

Lucifer’s eyes flicked over Percy, and a slow, crawling smirk appeared on his face. “Yes, Percy, it is indeed a pleasure to see you again. Tell me, does your lack of godhead mean Poseidon refused to let you sit on his throne?”

Percy’s blood froze, then cracked and boiled. “What do you know about it?”

“More than you do,” said Lucifer with his smile growing crueler with every passing second. “Evidently.”

Calypso’s hand on Percy’s arm stilled the words (and possibly fist) he wanted to throw in Lucifer’s face.

“You show poor hospitality, Morningstar,” she said, the words mild as milk.

Lucifer’s face twisted in anger and then smoothed. After a moment he inclined his head towards Percy.

“Your father always was mercurial at best,” he said. “The ocean’s surface is not to be trusted.”

It was more of an apology than Percy had ever been offered by an angry god before. It also didn’t make a dent in his anger.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been told,” said Percy. Then, because maybe he did have a death wish, he wasn’t entirely certain, he added, “I guess you know something about disappointing fathers, though, right?”

If the conversations around them had stumbled earlier when Lucifer disparaged Zeus this time they tripped and fell into an abyss. Calypso’s grip on Percy’s arm tightened painfully, reminding him that just because she had delicate wrists and little fingers didn’t mean she wasn’t a goddess who could very easily break him in two.

For a moment, Percy wondered if Lucifer would smite him then and there.

Instead, he tilted back his head and laughed. He laughed long and hard, and when he straightened up, he wiped a single tear from his eye.

“I haven’t laughed like that in years,” Lucifer said, still chuckling. He clapped Percy’s shoulder and squeezed. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, and the little circle his thumb made sent a spike of heat through Percy’s body. “Know this: your fire will always be welcome here, Percy Jackson.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Percy, who had no plans to ever come back to this place. The whole thing wasn’t really his style, dancing was fun, but drunk mortals and gods behaving badly weren’t. Also, they kept touching him, which was weird.

“Allow me to give you the official tour, cousin,” Lucifer was saying to Calypso. “Percy, feel free to order whatever you want from the bar, it’s on me.”

Percy looked at Calypso, who nodded. She would be fine with Lucifer. Which was good because Percy remembered how good the food was and he was fairly hungry.

He camped out at the bar with a few small plates the bartender dished out to him. Little fried fishes, some cheese and good ham, a few pickles, and a blue fruity blended drink that the faceless servitor behind the counter assured him was non-alcoholic.

Being drunk didn’t feel bad exactly, but there was a reason why when he was younger he’d been so dead set against it. For a moment he’d felt close to Gabe, able to see the world through the haze he must have lived in, and it left him feeling dirty and ashamed.

He already had to deal with enough of that, what with how much he’d enjoyed torturing Akhlys and how it turned out he’d been lying to himself about his sexuality for years.

“Percy Jackson…” Percy looked up. A man was approaching him, maybe a year or two older than Percy. He was gorgeous, almost as pretty as Lucifer, but this man was blond and a bit more muscular, with stylishly ripped jeans and an undercut. His eyes were red, the color of heart’s blood, and his smile was mean.

However, his primary identifying feature was the quiver on his back and the bow slung over his shoulders.

“Cupid,” Percy returned coldly. He thought about Nico and his fingers itched for Riptide.

“Eros, actually,” said the god with a cruel little smirk. “Though the distinction means less and less these days.”

“What do you want?” Percy snapped. Looking at Eros’s arrogant face and thinking about how much Nico would have been scared and ashamed when Eros demanded Nico admit his feelings was stewing a profound and abiding rage in Percy’s chest.

He wanted to hurt this god.

“He doesn’t want anything,” said another voice. Percy turned to see a dark olive-skinned youth with silky black hair who looked like an almost reverse image of Eros. His eyes were a soft, comforting bronze, his clothes were tidy, and he seemed kind. “I do.”

“And who are you?” Percy asked, trying to keep his anger in check.

“I am Anteros,” the god said, his voice still quiet and kind. “That which comes after the first flush of desire—the return of love, and love returned.”

“Well, that’s great for you but I’ve never met a love god that didn’t try to make my life miserable, so I’ll just be going now…”

“Hold, a moment, please,” Anteros said, and Percy stopped despite himself. He couldn’t remember the last time a god had said please to him. “I wish to speak with you.”

“Why?” Percy asked grudgingly, keeping a wary eye on Eros.

“Lady Aphrodite said that your love life would be interesting, and it surely has been so,” Anteros said. “You have been pursued by many, but only pursued one yourself in that time.”

“Until Nico,” said Eros with a wicked smile. Percy fingered the cap on Riptide’s pen, managing to restrain himself by the thinnest of margins.

“Who did not pursue you so much as he was caught up in your wake,” continued Anteros. He spoke like each word was handled with the utmost care, each syllable coaxed out in a near-hush so that Percy had to focus to hear him. 

“Why can’t you just say ‘had a crush’ like a normal person,” Percy grumbled. “What’s your point?”

“Who you are and who you love are both choices, Percy Jackson,” Anteros said solemnly. “That is all I want: for you to remember what you have and that you have a choice. Eros?”

“Love is very often cruel, but not tonight I think,” said Eros. He turned to Percy. “I know you must hate me for what I did to Nico, and that is good. Your love is strong.”

“Screw you,” Percy snapped.

“There is no reward without sacrifice, Percy Jackson,” Eros told him. “Remember that as you also remember what Anteros told you.”

Percy scowled at the love gods as they walked off, their knuckles barely brushing. Nothing quite like immortals who offered advice so cryptic it bordered on counterproductive.

Percy sighed and cast his eyes around the room. And when he glanced at the door he nearly bit through his tongue.

Apollo had just slunk through the entrance, looking sullen and defiant. He seemed nervous, making his way cautiously into the room.

He should be nervous! Already Percy could see gods and monsters noticing the new arrival, and taking stock. If they recognized Apollo and realized he was powerless, all hell would break loose.

Percy marched over to Apollo, trying not to appear too obviously aggravated or concerned. Apollo saw Percy, and he brightened, smiling brightly like the shining sun.

“What are you doing here?” Percy hissed as he grabbed Apollo by the arm.           

Apollo’s smile broke into a scowl and shook off Percy’s grip. There was no divine strength behind it, though, and Percy couldn’t help but notice the flex of Apollo’s bicep as he pulled away.

“I can go wherever I want,” Apollo said snottily. “And I wanted to come here.”

Percy held back the urge to throttle him, barely.

“You’re not supposed to leave Olympus,” Percy said. Apollo was powerless and vulnerable and in the lair of a rival god. Literally, too, since Lucifer was a sun god too (or angel, not that Percy knew what the distinction meant) and Percy didn’t know if gods got extra pissy but he couldn’t imagine anything good coming from Apollo being here.

“Come on,” Percy said, grabbing Apollo by the shoulder. “We need to get you home.”

“No!” Apollo tore away from Percy’s grip. “I’m staying, and you can’t make me go.”

Their argument was drawing more attention. Gods glanced at Percy and dismissed him, before settling on Apollo.

Without his powers, Apollo was just a bratty teenager, admittedly one with thousands of years experience in combat and knowledge. Mostly, right now, Percy was focused on the bratty teenager…

… who was currently running away from him.

Percy cursed and moved only to find his path blocked by a beautiful woman. She stood tall, easily seven feet, her dark hair falling—no—cascading over her bronzed skin in loose ringlets, and her gauzy white dress doing little to hide a physique that implied she could break Percy in half over her knee with no effort.

“Excuse me,” he said trying to dart around her, but one impeccably manicured hand latched onto his shoulder with a grip that would sooner break him than he could break it.

“Hold there, hero,” she said, her voice thick like honey and seductive like wine. “Let the sun shine in.”

“Let go of me,” he said, and she smiled. It was an empty smile. “I’ll call the Morningstar.”

“Oh dear,” said the woman faux-frettingly. She pursed her lips and pouted, but her vise-like grip never let up. “You wouldn’t want to get little old me in trouble, would you?”

Percy tried to open his mouth and prove that he would do just that, but his jaw was locked tight. He strained, trying to open his mouth, and found that it wasn’t just his mouth that had frozen.

The goddess smiled at him, and Percy looked around frantically. He couldn’t move; every muscle had locked up just like that Love guy. But he’d broken that hold before, only Love was a demigod, and this woman, whoever she was, was clearly a goddess.

"I promise we won’t hurt your little sun god, much,” she leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I’m so very fond of beautiful things, after all.”

He couldn’t see Lucifer, and Apollo was surrounded by strange immortals. He looked terrified now, and his eyes locked with Percy pleadingly. He saw no sign of Calypso, Cernunnos, or Nerites. Even Ganymede had gone off (presumably, wherever Lucifer was) and the Erotes weren’t in sight.

Percy was alone, at the mercy of a strange goddess, and about to watch something awful happen to Apollo.

A circle had formed around Apollo, cornering him and gently moving him out from the center of the room, toward a dark corner.

Percy’s anger usually came on quick, but this rage took a moment, like the tide drawing back from the coastline, before it returned as a tidal wave. He surged against the force that held him and something inside him cracked, like a joint desperately in need of relief. Whatever it was that had broken in him earlier, when he became the ocean, and before that, in Tartarus.

It seemed a little easier each time.

Percy uncapped his sword and before the goddess could do more than gasp in surprise he slashed her across the face. She screamed, a sound that blasted Percy back with such force he hit the wall and blacked out

Reality grayed back into focus long enough for Percy to make out the goddess striding toward him angrily, literally burning with anger.

She grabbed him and hauled him up.

“You _dare_ to touch me, mortal?” she snarled and raised her hand. The wound on her face was steaming, golden ichor slowly sealing it up. “I will smite your soul into oblivion—”

“I think not,” Lucifer said as he grabbed her by the arm. Percy hadn’t seen him move, or even appear. One moment he hadn’t been there, the next he was. “You’ve broken my accord, Anat, and thus outstayed your welcome.”

Anat tore her arm away, dropping Percy. She backed toward the door, glaring about. The other gods who had been surrounding Apollo had all vanished to the far corners of the club, looking as innocent as newborn babes. Or trying to appear that way, at any rate.

“Well,” said Anat, straightening up and smoothing out her dress, draping her dignity about her like an armored cloak. “I wouldn’t want to outstay my welcome. Such fuss over mortals… of course that’s why you’re here in the first place, isn’t it?”

Percy had seen a lot of angry gods in his time. They were all terrifying to various degrees, but a few of them stood out. The look on Lucifer’s face put him comfortably on tier with anything Percy had seen before. Only the fact it wasn’t directed at him kept it from ranking somewhere in his Top Ten Scariest Faces list.

Anat seemed to have realized she’d overstepped—not that Percy knew exactly what she’d stepped to—because she tried to fade away into nothing.

Lucifer wasn’t having it. He stepped forward and suddenly the room was hot, and rapidly growing hotter than was comfortable for even a demigod.

“You insignificant, endling _bitch_ ,” Lucifer snarled and just like that the room was full of a different sort of tension. There were quite a few endling gods here, and Lucifer had just struck a nerve.

Percy sidled over to Apollo as quickly as he could. This looked like it was going to be a brawl any second now. He grabbed Apollo by his arm.

“Come on,” he whispered. “Do you know another way out of here?”

Apollo shook his head, still nearly quivering with nerves. If everything went to hell, then Apollo would be at the center of a free-for-all.

“Crap,” Percy said with feeling. He needed to get Apollo out of here, and preferably back to Olympus, or at least New York.

Lucifer was advancing on Anat, the shadows drawing into the shape of dark wings at his back, more shining elaborate sigils etched into the air than like anything found on a bird. Fire flickered over him, and he looked awe-inspiring and terrible.

However, Anat was changing too. Wicked armor coalesced on her body and weapons were arraying in a halo behind her head, like a rising sun made of knives.

“Percy!” Calypso had appeared by his side.

“We need to leave,” he said, and she nodded. Then she noticed Apollo.

“Lord Apollo! What are you doing here?” she hissed, and Apollo pouted. Literally, he put his lips out and batted his big blue eyes and pouted.

The worst bit about it, Percy thought, was that he really did look adorable.

“Good,” said Nerites as he appeared at Percy’s shoulder. “You’re all together. Cerne and Chernobog are going to try and talk Lucifer down, but we should still leave.”

Sure enough, Cerne, along with another god who had a wild halo of dark hair and an unkempt, dangerous look about him, were standing at Lucifer’s sides, talking to him urgently.

They were also, Percy noticed, making no effort to physically restrain him. Just like Anat, who had summoned as much of her god-form as she dared, made no move to escape or fight.

Nerites had told them that Lucifer was nearly as strong as their fathers. Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus were the mightiest of the Olympian gods, and Percy had seen that strength firsthand. If Lucifer was operating near their tier without a pantheon behind him, no throne, just a single angel who maintained a neutral citadel between the twin poles of the Axis Mundi… well, then that was about as much proof as Percy needed.

At that level of power, the difference of a fraction meant little. Shades of infinity might as well be considered still infinite, though Percy knew the gods’ power wasn’t infinite. With the amount of power they had, sometimes it seemed to make little difference.

Nerites hustled them through a door Percy hadn’t seen a moment ago. They entered a tunnel that gradually gave way from the clean, modern walls of Club Achra to cement, then stone, then finally rocks and earth.

Roots pushed out of the walls and the air smelled like fresh soil, damp and full of life.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“When Pasiphae resurrected the Labyrinth many gods made use of it,” said Nerites. “Cerne hooked a portion of it to his office so he could easily commute from work to home.”

“Home?”

“Endling gods technically exist on the sufferance of whichever pole of the Axis’s territory they live in,” said Nerites. “If they want to move without restriction they need to stay hidden.”

“If Zeus finds out about this he’ll eradicate the Labyrinth,” said Calypso. “Cernunnos must care for you a great deal, Nerites.”

“No one’s gonna tell Zeus,” said Apollo, piping up from his malaise. “Least _I’m_ not.”

“We know,” said Nerites dryly. “Because he’d have your head for being so reckless.”

Apollo scoffed. “Okay, Dad’s mad at me, but I’m still his number one son. I mean, the competition isn’t exactly fierce, but once this blows over I’ll be back in his good graces in no time flat.”

Percy snorted but otherwise didn’t comment.

They exited the Labyrinth in a wooded area. There was a wooden longhouse covered in ivy nearby, smoke gently curling from its chimney.

“C’mon, Cerne keeps his chariot in the hunting lodge’s garage,” said Nerites.

Apollo was looking more and more morose with every step they took.

“You okay?” Percy said despite himself. Apollo just looked so pathetic he couldn’t help but ask.

“No, no I’m not,” Apollo told him a bit tearfully. Percy realized to his distant horror he wanted to wipe Apollo's tears away, like clearing rainclouds that hid a shining sun. “This sucks so much! I feel so weak—those guys could have done _anything_ to me. And I wouldn’t have been able to stop them!”

“Yeah, that really must suck,” Percy said dryly. “I can only imagine how it feels: to be at the mercy of the gods.”

His sarcasm was powerful enough to penetrate Apollo’s moping, and the look he turned on Percy was torn, somewhere between white-hot indignation and grudging empathy.

“Here we are!” Nerites announced, throwing open the double doors of a barn. Inside was a humongous tricked out truck, albeit one that was kind of banged up and still covered in mud.

“Ugh, Cerne, are you constitutionally incapable of cleaning up after yourself,” Nerites grumbled as he waved his hand and the mud slid off the truck.

“Is no one’s chariot a chariot anymore?” asked Calypso, stroking the hood of the car. “These contraptions are fascinating.”

“Can we go? I’m tired,” whined Apollo. He looked so pathetic (and adorable) that Percy almost felt bad for him.

They all piled into the truck, Nerites in the front seat and Calypso beside him. In the back, Percy sat next to Apollo. An Apollo, who looked increasingly upset with every passing moment.

This was not how Percy had expected his night to go.

“This _sucks_ ,” Apollo groaned, listing sideways onto Percy.

For a moment Percy considered going with his first impulse and pushing him away, but he just looked so sad…

Percy sighed and slung an arm around Apollo’s shoulders. The god snuffled and buried his face in the crook of Percy’s neck.

“There you go,” said Percy to his armful of sun god, patting him on the shoulder. “We’ll be back to Olympus soon.”

Apollo sniffled. “Okay.” He laid his head on Percy’s shoulder, and Percy did his best to ignore the sweet scent of honeysuckle drifting on a warm, summer breeze. He hoped Nico's quest was going more easily than this outing had been.

           


	15. Chapter 15

Crater Lake National Park 

 _All lies are stories, and people are made of stories_  

Piper

Nico and a massive hellhound only a little smaller than the cab of a semi-truck barreled out of the shadows, skidding so sharply Nico nearly flew off the hellhound’s back. Piper and Linda jumped to their feet, Piper drawing her dagger and Linda whipping out her telescoping baton. The dust from the dog’s arrival had her shielding her face for a moment before it settled down.

“Mr. Beauregard needs something of Jason’s,” gasped Nico by way of explanation after he jumped down.

The massive dog—Mr. Beauregard, Piper assumed—panted and sat back on his haunches. Piper kept one involuntarily wary eye on him (he was a very, _very_ large dog) while Nico came back from the boys’ tent holding Jason’s clothes from yesterday and his bedding, having apparently just grabbed everything he could lay his hands on. Nico dumped the stuff unceremoniously in front of Mr. Beauregard who leaned down and took a few very delicate sniffs.

Mr. Beauregard nosed Jason’s clothes and then raised his head until his snout was tall in the air, like an oddly shaped tower. He inhaled deeply, and Piper could swear she heard the air swelling inside the hellhound’s gargantuan lungs.

“That is a big dog,” she said solemnly. Nico jumped like he hadn’t heard her come up beside him. “His name is Mr. Beauregard, you said?”

“Yes. He’s a hellhound,” Nico told her. Mr. Beauregard’s tail was gently swaying in the air as he sniffed deeply. Suddenly his tail flicked up stiff, and his eyes popped open. With a low woof that Piper could feel reverberate in her chest, Mr. Beauregard crouched low and looked expectantly at them.

“All right, you kids get on board, I’ll guard basecamp and report to HQ,” said Linda. “If you’re not back by this evening I’ll call in reinforcements and come get you myself.”

Well, she was at least as confident as Coach Hedge.

“Deal!” called Nico as he clambered up. He turned to offer Piper, a hand, but she’d already hauled herself up behind him.

Piper scooted forward to sit directly behind Nico, but he stiffened, clearly uncomfortable by how close she was sitting.

“Sorry, I can,” she said moving back, but he caught her by the wrist.

"It’s fine, it’s… it makes sense. I’m just weird.” He let go of her wrist. “You should hold on.

“It’s okay to be weird,” said Piper as casually as she could manage. “People who make you feel bad for stuff like that aren’t people you should pay any attention to anyway. Trust me.”

Nico didn’t respond, but Piper got the sense he’d listened to her. She scooted forward and curled her hands into the thick fur.

“You can hold onto me,” Nico said without turning around.

“Thank you, Nico,” she said, mindful of the fact that this was an act of trust. Piper had only ever seen Nico be physical with a handful of people. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, okay?”

Nico nodded, although she wasn’t sure how much he trusted her yet. He was trying, though, she knew that much.

Mr. Beauregard huffed, stood up, and they plunged down into the shadows.

 

* * *

 

Piper was not a huge fan of shadow travel, but she was a big fan of the result. When Mr. Beauregard trotted out of the darkness, they emerged in a gravel parking lot. The trees were of the same sort of the forest they’d just been in, but the sky was cloudy, so they were at least far away enough for different weather.

Cars dotted the gravel lot, and beyond them was a clearing with tents and hay scattered everywhere between them. People filtered in and out of the tents, mostly kids with their accompanying guardians. The smell of fried food and smoke filled the cool autumn air. Overhead a large sign proclaimed this to be LUDO’S MAGNIFICENT CIRQUE Du

Overhead a large sign proclaimed this to be LUDO’S MAGNIFICENT CIRQUE Du EXTRAVAGANSA

“It’s a carnival,” Piper said after staring around for a moment.

“It’s awful is what it is,” said Nico without reservation. “What on earth is that sign supposed to be, French?”

“Yeah, I think so,” said Piper.

“Look, mama, it’s an elephant!”

They both turned to see a little girl tugging her mom along with all the force her tiny legs could muster.

“Mama, can I ride the elephant?” the little girl pleaded, her beaded cornrows clacking as she whipped her head back and forth.

“I thought this was an animal cruelty-free circus,” said her mother, eyeing Nico, Piper, and Mr. Beauregard severely.

“And it is, believe you me, Ma’am,” said Piper quickly. “Mr. Beauregard here is actually an animatronic elephant the home office is testing out as a replacement!”

Mr. Beauregard craned his head around to give Piper some doggy side-eye. She shrugged helplessly at him.

“Oh! Well, that’s good to know,” said the mom. “You hear that, Janelle? It’s a _robot_ elephant.”

“So cool!” the little girl cooed. “I wanna ride it!”

“Unfortunately, it’s not quite ready to ride,” said Nico quickly. “Legal stuff. But come back in a few months and check with us then, okay?”

“Okay!” Janelle declared. Her mom mouthed a silent thank you toward them as she led her daughter away.

“Animatronic elephant?” asked Nico when the girl and her mother were out of sight.

“Come back in a few months?” Piper returned, and Nico let out a short bark of laughter that surprised both of them.

They were grinning as they slid down Mr. Beauregard’s back. Then the reality of the situation reasserted itself.

“All right,” said Nico. “Mr. Beauregard, you’re drawing too much attention. Wait for my signal, okay, boy?”

Mr. Beauregard huffed and grumbled, but then he slunk down into the shadow of a trailer. Within seconds he was out of sight.

“Okay, so do we think we can sneak in, or should we go through the front,” said Piper.

Nico hummed thoughtfully. “If we sneak in it’ll take longer, we’d have to split up.”

“All right, the front it is, then,” said Piper and started walking around toward the entrance.

Nico trotted after her. He also paid for their entry, saving Piper the minor moral hiccup of charming their way in. She’d never enjoyed stealing and breaking the law; those things had been symptoms, cries for help. But the skills she’d acquired did come in handy.

“What’s up, hot stuff?” It took Piper a moment to realize she was being addressed. A boy who looked unpleasant in the extreme was leering at her with his friends ranging behind him, grinning like a school of sharks.

“C’mon, dude, she looks like a freak,” said one of them.

“If you’d ever had sex, you’d know you want a freak,” he responded and his buddies all oohed while the boy who’d spoken up had turned red and stepped back. Piper almost sighed, it was just going to be one of those days.The flirt turned back to Piper. “So, how about you ditch Faggot Walks in Darkness over there and come warm a real man’s teepee?”

The flirt turned back to Piper. “So, how about you ditch Faggot Walks in Darkness over there and come warm a real man’s teepee?”

Piper waited until he finished talking before she broke his nose, it was only the polite thing to do. The punch hurt her hand, but the satisfaction made it all worth it. Piper didn’t usually go for violence, but saying something like that to Nico was unconscionable.

“No thanks,” she said cheerily as he stumbled back clutching his nose.

“What the fuck, bitch!” His friends were up and moving, and he looked ready to kill. Piper wasn’t scared, though. He was just a mortal. “I’m gonna fuck you up, you dumb cu—“

A wave of cold so profound and bitter it made Piper immediately start shivering passed over her. She saw the boys in front of her pale in unison, their eyes going wide with raw terror.

Beneath her feet, the ground trembled ever so gently as hairline fractures radiated out from beneath Nico’s feet. Already anything green in eyesight had begun to wilt, and one of the boys accosting them had peed himself.

“Run. Now.” Nico said the words coldly, calmly.

Terrifyingly.

Piper’s skin was crawling, and his stare wasn’t even directed at her. The boys turned around stumbling in their haste to sprint away. Nico let out a long, shaky breath.

“Are you okay?” Piper asked him.

“I’m fine. You were the one he was…” Nico fumbled for the words. There was no sign of the frightening son of the underworld anymore; now he was just an awkwardly concerned teenage boy. Of course, now that Piper knew him better it was easier to distinguish the two.

“Hey, I’m okay, you don’t have to worry about me,” she said. “He wasn’t even that bad, I’ve had a lot of practice in dealing with jerks like that.”

“You have?” Nico was looking at her skeptically.

“Oh, yeah, I used to get teased all the time,” Piper told him, tamping down on her irritation. Nico didn’t know her, and he didn’t know her history. The assumption still rankled for some reason. Piper had _never_ had it easy. “Making fun of my learning disabilities, my heritage, my diet… just everything. When I first arrived at camp, Drew made my life miserable.”

Nico was giving her an inscrutable look. “She did?”

“Yeah, and she was abusing her charm speak too so that no one could stand up to her,” said Piper. The unsaid being until she had arrived and put Drew in her place. “You’re not the only person who’s struggled with being different, you know.”

“It’s not the same,” said Nico gruffly.

“You’re right, it’s not,” said Piper stiffly, knowing she needed to be patient even if Nico’s words rankled her something fierce. Nico’s struggles were pretty unique, what with the time travel and other stuff, but those were mostly window-dressing. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t similar.”

Nico grunted. “I grew up in a time and place where people like me were being put to death en masse.”

“I grew up in a country built on the genocide of my ancestors,” Piper returned sharply. “And, arguably, it’s an on-going genocide, but it’s not a contest, Nico, I’m just saying I understand some of what you’re feeling.” Piper swallowed and braved the next few words. “I’ve even thought about girls, you know, a couple of times.”

Nico’s mouth fell open before he snapped it shut with an audible click. “Oh! I didn’t know.”

“It’s not like it’s something I was sharing with people,” said Piper. And she’d never really had these thoughts before coming to Camp Half Blood.

Of course, she’d never met girls her age she could trust, much less be attracted to or fall in love with, before coming to Camp Half Blood.

“Well, I’m glad you told me,” said Nico. “Uh… high-five?”

Piper smiled and clapped his hand. Annabeth had told her about Nico’s coming out, and Piper thought it was adorable he’d taken the high-five bit and was running with it.

“And if you ever want to talk,” Piper said. “I’m available to listen.”

“You are?” He didn’t sound skeptical so much as perpetually surprised that Piper was still talking to him.

“Totally,” said Piper. “No pressure, though, it’s not a friendship test, okay?”

Nico seemed to like that because he smiled tentatively at her. He was kind of cute when he smiled; she had to admit. Not her type, though. If Percy looked like trouble, then Nico looked like tragedy, at least most of the time.

That smile kind of changed things and it had been showing up more and more these days.

Still, she preferred Jason. Jason, who she was going to rescue, and then beat the ever-loving stuffing out of whoever had taken him.

“Thanks, Piper.” Nico sounded almost shy. Piper bumped him with her shoulder.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s go rescue our darling damsel in distress.”

Nico snorted. Piper felt pretty sure it was in amusement.

“So, where do you think he is?” Nico asked her.

“I have no idea,” she said.

She looked around, casing the joint so to speak. There wasn’t much to go on. Jason could be anywhere here.

There was nothing for it; she’d have to use Katoptris. Piper had avoided looking into her dagger since Delphi had been unblocked, seeing the future seemed to be—to pardon the pun—a double-edged sword.

On the other hand, Piper wasn’t going to let Jason languish in danger for a single second longer than she had to.

“Why hello there children!” Piper and Nico looked up to see a clown bearing down on them. “Are you lost? You look lost.”

“Not exactly,” said Piper slowly. The clown set her teeth on edge, not because of his clown voice but the way he was talking to them like little kids. It felt off. “We’re just looking for a friend.”

“Oh, ho, ho, ho!” The clown honked his big red nose and then smiled at her. It was a smile with too many teeth.

The clown wasn’t human. Piper’s hand shifted to her dagger.

“Maybe your friend is hiding from you!” suggested the clown slyly. “Maybe your friend doesn’t like you all that much. Maybe your friend doesn’t want to be found.”

The tip of Nico’s sword appeared just under the clown’s throat so swiftly and silently that both the clown and Piper were caught by surprise.

“It’s not nice to tell lies,” said Nico. The clown grinned, its smile reaching inhumanly far back in its cheeks.

"Heeeee! Looks like we’ve got us a live one here boys!”

All around them, sliding into existence like they’d been lurking just out of sight, were clowns. Hideous, cartoony, and gleefully cackling clowns.

“What kind of monsters are they?” she asked Nico. Piper might not know Nico very well, but she knew enough to hope that Nico recognized whatever they were facing. Unfortunately, he shook his head.

“Not sure, possibly some sort of shapeshifters, they’re not spirits,” he said in a low voice.

“Where is Jason?”

“Jason?” asked one of the clowns.

“Who’s that?” asked another clown.

"Sounds like a chump,” chimed in another. “Sounds like someone who runs off and leaves his friends behind.”

“Leaves his _girl_ friend behind.”

Darkness began to sap the color around them, and Piper could feel a great burst of cold emanate out from Nico and settle around them like a cloud. He looked ready to fight but was waiting for her to give the signal.

Time to give the ol’ charmspeak a try.

" _Please, won’t you tell us where Jason is?”_ she asked. The clowns seemed to waver.

“Pretty voice.”

“Pretty words.”

“Pretty…”

As one the clowns drew back in fear and pointed at Piper. Then they all shrieked.

The noise was deafening. Piper had no idea what the mortals heard but to her, it sounded like ten thousand claws raking down chalkboards.

“ENOUGH!” A burst of bitter cold and darkness swallowed them, stifling the cries. Piper could hear whispers as if from a great distance, and then the shadows retreated. The clowns looked stunned, and Nico was breathing heavily. On his head, the Helm of Darkness pulsed.

“Scatter lads!” A clown cried. “They can’t catch all of us!”

All the clowns turned and ran, but one of them tripped over his comically long shoes. He tucked into a summersault as Piper and Nico dashed after him. He disappeared around a corner with a honk of his nose.

They rounded the corner and came face to face with a great dark portal of a doorway, a massive red sign saying Closed over it.

The clown had vanished into the Hall of Mirrors. The broken down closed for repairs Hall of Mirrors.

“I feel like we were just played,” said Piper.

“Yeah, looks like it,” said Nico. He tightened his grip on his sword and met Piper’s gaze with steely determination. “Ready?”

“Sure,” she said but didn’t take a step forward.

“You’re afraid of clowns?” asked Nico and Piper scowled at him.

“Not afraid, just not… preferred,” she said with great dignity. He smiled at her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the scary clowns, Miss McLean.”

“I’ll thank you for keeping your chauvinist chivalry to yourself, Mr. di Angelo,” she returned haughtily. “I can protect myself.”

“Then, by all means, go first,” he said and laughed when Piper shook her head wildly.

“No way!”

Nico grinned at her and ducked inside. Piper followed after him, her dagger at the ready.

 

* * *

 

It was dark inside the hall of mirrors. Around them their reflections stretched out into shadows, dipping in and out of sight.

“Tee hee!” The high pitched giggle of the clown echoed confusingly off the walls.

Nico and Piper exchanged a look.

“Cliché, much?” Piper whispered, and Nico grinned at her. This wasn’t the kind and shy smile she’d seen lately on him, it was the feral grin of dark, predatory joy. Like the way, he’d laughed when Frank summoned all those undead Roman legionnaires.

However, in the past where it would have left her feeling uneasy and possibly even a bit unsafe, now it felt—well, not exactly comforting, but reliable. This boy at her side, full of darkness and born out of death, was also on her side. She could trust him.

She hoped Nico felt he could trust her too.

They stalked through the hall of mirrors. A thick layer of dust covered everything, except the mirrors, which seemed to gleam with unnaturally sharp reflections. Something about the way they bent and warped as Nico and Piper walked among the mirrors made her stomach twist.

“You know he doesn’t really love you, right?” a voice whispered in her ear. Piper whirled around at the same time Nico did, but nothing was behind them. At least nothing they can see.

“You heard that?” asked Piper.

“Yeah, I did,” said Nico.

“I wonder which of us they’re trying to unsettle,” said Piper conversationally. Nico looked at her curiously, as if he was biting back a snappy retort.

“But, you and Jason…” he trailed off. “Never mind. Let’s just get out of here. We’re not gonna find him here.”

“You know, until pretty recently, Jason and I weren’t on very solid ground,” Piper told him. “I mean, we liked each other, but Hera, or Juno, I guess, put the whammy on Jason much more than she did to me and Leo. For a while, I didn’t know how much of me Jason actually liked, and how much Hera had decided he was supposed to like.”

Nico was quiet for a moment as they backtracked toward the entrance. “I know you’ve—I mean, I appreciate that you’re, you know, telling me these things. Just… so you know.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Only—we may have bigger problems.”

They’d backtracked to the entrance, only it wasn’t there anymore. Instead there was a forked path, with their footprints splitting up, as though they’d come through the forked path, which they definitely hadn’t.

“Okay, enough of this,” said Nico and he gestured. The shadows grew longer for a moment and then drew back, as if the darkness had throbbed and then thought better of it.

Nico frowned and gestured again. On his head, the knit cap version of the Helm of Darkness began to radiate cold. The shadows pulsed against, this time, longer, but still wouldn’t obey Nico’s command.

“Maybe we should keep going?” asked Piper.

If Nico heard her, he didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he set his feet in a stance and then stepped into the shadows. His foot plunged into the darkness and then stopped as if stuck in tar.

Piper watched Nico strain before finally ripping his foot out of the shadows with a cry of enraged defeat.

“Gods damn it, I can’t break through,” he snapped.

“It’s because you’re weak.” They whirled around.

“That sounded like you,” said Piper slowly.

“That’s because it _is_ him, you dumbass,” said another voice that sounded almost familiar…

“And that sounded just like you,” said Nico. His sword was in his hand.

“Oh look, he is good for something after all.” A figure was walking out of the shadows. It was Nico, but like an after-image, and a sadistic smile that chilled Piper’s spine. “Stating the obvious.”

“Is that the best you’ve got? Seriously?” asked Nico. “Misery herself couldn’t break me, what possible hope do you have?”

“Hope?” Shadow-Nico’s smile grew wider, impossibly wide, like the Cheshire Cat. “Hope is a lie, nothing more than a little knife in the ribs. In Tartarus, you were hopeless and untouchable. But you have something you’re afraid to lose now, don’t you?”

Nico looked shaken for a moment but then steeled himself.

“Don’t listen to him,” said Piper.

“Oh yeah, listen to her instead,” drawled Shadow-Piper as she strode around the corner of some mirrors. Shadow-Piper looked just like Piper, except beautiful, her hair sleek, flawless makeup highlighting her features and her kaleidoscope eyes blazing like little glimmering prisms. “Like she actually knows what she’s talking about.”

“I’ll give you points for accuracy,” said Piper. “But good luck preying on my insecurities.”

She knew herself too well to let any of it do more then sting.

“He’s going to leave you, you know,” whispered Shadow-Nico.

“Shut up,” said Nico and swung his sword. Shadow-Nico didn’t evade the blade, just let it hit him, dispersing him like cloud of smoke.

“Remember how much Jason liked us when we looked like this?” asked Shadow-Piper, running her perfectly manicured fingers through her hair.

Piper ignored her shadow-self and brushed her back. “Oh, shut up.”

Shadow-Piper dissolved and then reformed next to another mirror.

“Enough!” Nico snarled. He raised his hand and the beanie on his head surged with darkness. Shadow-Nico yelped as the shadows gripped him and pulled him apart.

“Shouldn’t have done that,” sang Shadow-Piper. A moment later the hall of mirrors went pitch black.

“Piper?” was that Nico or Shadow-Nico?

“Nico?”

“Piper?”

            “Piper?”

“Piper?” “Piper?” “Piper.”

“Piper?” “Piper.”

            “Piper?” “Piper.” “Piper?” “Piper.”

“Piper?”

            “Piper?” “Piper.”

“Piper?” “Piper.” “Piper?” “Piper.” “Piper.”

            “Piper?”             “Piper?”

“Piper?” “Piper.” “Piper?” “Piper.” “Piper?”

            “Piper?”

Piper took a deep breath and let the fear wash over her. She couldn’t see where she was, and she couldn’t tell which voice was actually Nico’s. But the shades, or whatever they were, had been insubstantial, like smoke.

In other words, they didn’t pose a physical threat. But every moment they wasted here fighting these things was a moment that Jason was in danger.

She tried to call out, but the smoke caught in her throat. Breathing through it was easy enough, but trying to speak was like spitting through molasses.

Piper blinked. She could hear something through the dark hush now that the echoes of her name had faded.

It was Nico—or rather his shadow-self, taunting them.

“You know the truth, in your heart of hearts,” Shadow-Nico was saying as he circled Nico, who was slumped to his knees.

Nico was staring at nothing, and gradually breathing faster and faster to the point where he would soon be hyperventilating.

“Everyone leaves you eventually,” Shadow Nico told him, “And the only common denominator there is… you.”

Nico’s breath hitched, and Piper struggled against the darkness.

“You’re worthless, ugly, pathetic, and stupid, and _you know it_.”

“No, no, no,” Nico whimpered curling in on himself.

“Don’t listen to him!” Piper struggled against her doppelganger's grip.

Nico raised his head up, looking confused and disoriented.

“Piper?” Nico could hear her!

“Piper’s gone, just like everyone else,” whispered Shadow-Nico. “Just like Percy will go, too.”

“He’s lying to you! Nico, he’s lying!”

“You’re—no, he won’t,” said Nico, sounding less confused with each passing second. “Percy saved me, every time, even when I didn’t think anyone would--he did.”

“Of course, he saved you,” wheedled Shadow-Nico. “You were in the way, and you don’t matter enough for him to leave to die. He pities you because he knows you’re weak.”

“I’m not weak,” said Nico, shaking his head, less to deny the words than trying to erase them from his brain. “I’m not.”

“Yes you are, you’re weak and ugly, and you know why everyone leaves you because you’re worthless.”

“No, I’m not,” Nico said, but he sounded unsure now.

Shadow-Nico leaned in and whispered like he hammering nails in the lid of a coffin, “You should have died in Bianca’s place.”

“ _NO!_ ” Piper shouted. She used her charmspeak. _“Don’t listen to him! You’re a good guy, and Percy loves you! And Hazel loves you! We all do! We’re your friends!”_

Nico’s eyes shot open, and Piper cheered. His shadow self was backpedaling as Nico stood up and the darkness dripping off him was so black it was like it ate light itself.

“NO!” screamed shadow-Nico. “NO ONE LOVES YOU! NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU! YOU WILL DIE ALONE AND UNLOVED, AND IT IS WHAT YOU DESERVE!”

Nico staggered to his feet, his fingers curling solidly around the hilt of his sword.

“Shut the hell up,” Nico snarled as he cut his shadow down.

Piper could feel the love pouring out of Nico, like sunshine, warm and life-giving. It echoed her feelings for Jason, but the weight of Nico’s devotion was like a physical thing, the history of his loyalty branded into his affection for Percy.

She could feel it. What’s more… she could wield it, or at least draw strength from it. Piper breathed it in and felt something coalesce in her core.

“Yeah, that’s gonna be effective,” said shadow-Piper, appearing at Piper’s side.

“More effective than you,” said Piper archly. She felt confident now; she’d already braved her own darkness. She could handle this.

“Yeah, about that,” drawled shadow-Piper. “ _Remember how you’re so toxic your father can’t even be allowed to remember the last time you saw each other?”_

Okay, that stung, doubly so with the charmspeak that almost made Piper believe it. All the same, Piper knew better than to let it get to her.

She still slapped shadow-Piper in the face, dissipating her image.

Nico was shouting as he stabbed at shadow-Nico. Although he was immune to shadow-Nico’s taunts, Nico couldn’t destroy him. He was giving it a good try, though.

Piper realized her shadow-self had reformed and was taunting her again.

_“You think you’re actually worth anything? But in your heart of hearts, you know better. You are **worthless**.”_

The worst part was Piper was starting to believe her, the voices, her reflection. It was like her words pierced through Piper’s brain to speak directly to her heart—

Oh. _Oh_. Well, crap.

“It’s the mirrors!” Piper yelled. “You have to break the mirrors! They’re reflecting our fears and our powers back at us!”

She stabbed her dagger into the mirror behind her Shadow-self. Instead of glass, it felt like stabbing a monster, piercing some sort of thick monster hide. But around the stab wound, the glass cracked.

Nico raised his hand, and tendrils of darkness pierced each of the mirrors. A high shrieking echoed out as the glass shattered.

A tinkling rain of glass shards cascaded out of the mirrors. The sound was almost pretty.

Piper massaged her temples, trying to clear her mind of all the charmspeak influenced taunting. Nico was breathing heavily, his sword still in his hand, casting his wild-eyed gaze around the room.

“I think that did it,” he said after a beat.

“Looks like,” Piper agreed. There was something tugging at her attention, the feeling of Nico’s love had faded, but the echo it illuminated was still there, pulling at her attention. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. You?”

“I’m alright,” she said. “And… I’m pretty sure I can feel Jason.”

Nico’s face brightened as he straightened up. “You can?”

“Yeah, right through here,” said Piper, pointing ahead down the now mirror-less corridor.

“Good, and I think I have a pretty good idea of who we’re up against,” Nico told her. “C’mon, I’ll explain on the way.”

 


	16. Chapter 16

Oregon -- Ludo’s Magnificent Cirque Du Extravagansa

_Faith is never rewarded, only tested_

Jason 

Jason had been ambushed before, caught by surprise plenty of times in fact, but he’d never been caught quite so literally with his pants down.

It had all been very embarrassing, although it nearly allowed him to get away. Apparently peeing on your enemy could be an effective weapon of opportunity, if that sort of thing bothered them.

Jason genuinely hoped it didn’t come up again, but it was still good to know.

He stiffened at the sound of footsteps. His captors, three of Ravana’s apostate demigods, were back.   

“Are you sure you don’t want some?” asked Sky. He was offering a cloud of cotton candy to Sun. Sea had a corndog he was gnawing on happily, and Jason’s stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten anything since he’d been captured, and he was very hungry.

“You sound hungry, bro,” Sea said to Jason. “Want some corn dog?”

“No, thank you,” said Jason. It was a lie, but he’d be damned if he gave them the satisfaction of him asking for anything. Also, Sea had already eaten most of it.

“This is taking too long,” Sun muttered.

“Dude, it’s fine,” said Sea, slinging an arm around him. “We’re all good, okay? We’re with you, bro.”

“He’s right, though,” said Sky. “We don’t have all day.”

“My apologies, gentlemen.”

Jason perked up. This voice was new.

A figure moved into view, a large man, almost rotund, with a brilliant bristling bear and waxed mustache. He wore a flamboyantly red suit and was absent-mindedly twirling a black cane.

If this was a circus, here was the ringmaster.

“So, you boys said you had something for me?” asked the ringmaster.

“One son of the big three, as requested, Lord Dolos,” said Sky, gesturing at Jason.

Dolos? Jason sat up straighter. Dolos was a god of lies, specifically trickery and deceptions. He was known for his talent at the craftsmanship, and supposedly he had even been trained by Prometheus himself.

“I said that I wanted Percy Jackson, not Jason Grace,” said Dolos. He flicked Jason’s forehead. “Though I’m sure I can still get something for the boy, it won’t be what your master wants.”

Jason stifled the reflexive indignation at being compared to Percy and being found wanting. He wouldn’t hesitate to admit Percy was impressive, but it wasn’t like he was that much more special than Jason, or some of their other friends.

“Percy Jackson’s fatal flaw is loyalty,” said Sky. “He’ll come for his friend, given time.”

“The promise of delivery, even one so assured, is not the same as the delivery,” said Dolos. “Not even I could sell that to the Broker without losing my head. Come back when you have Percy Jackson and not a moment before.”

The Broker? Jason tried not to look interested in the conversation. Maybe this would finally be a lead on where the apostate demigods obtained such powerful weapons.

“Great,” said Sea. “And what do we do with him?” He was looking at Jason.

“Kill him?” asked Sun. Sea shrugged and looked at Sky.

Jason tensed.

“I’ll still be happy to take the son of Jupiter off your hands,” said Dolos, twirling his cane. Jason wasn’t sure he wanted to go with Dolos anymore than the others, but at least Dolos didn’t look murderous. Also, they were part of the same mythos, so the odds were that Dolos had some sort of scheme that could give Jason time to find a chance to escape.

“Nah, you don’t have to worry about that,” said Sky. He clapped Jason on the shoulder. “We’ll put him to good use, and Sun can always use a punching bag to vent on.”

Sun was starting to glow with a low, simmering heat. The hunger in his eyes as he stared at Jason raked icy dread down his spine. It took all his concentration to stay non-resistant and bide his time. He knew Piper and Nico would be searching for him. He only hoped they found him soon.

“I think, perhaps, you misunderstand me.” The three apostate demigods and Jason turned their full focus to Dolos. “You’ll be leaving the son of Jupiter with me.”

“Oh, ho, ho! The other shoe finally drops,” said Sky. For a demigod who’d just been threatened by a god, he was pretty cavalier.

Then again, as Jason knew, these guys had ways of dealing with gods. Maybe they were about to find out how. Annabeth’s theory was they used godly weapons, which only raised a further question: where did they get those weapons?

Jason wondered what this Broker had to do with the answer to that question.

“Just because you have a few trinkets do not think you can stand toe-to-toe with a god,” Dolos said quietly. The big top tent around them began to flex, drawing in as the shadow grew longer.

Jason wasn’t sure which fate was ultimately worse, but either way, he had to keep an eye on out for potential escape opportunities--

He saw Piper and Nico in the stands. Jason had caught himself before he sighed in relief, but just barely. They’d found him, and just having them in sight took the edge of Jason’s fear. Between Piper and Nico he had complete confidence, they would get to him, and it was up to him to be ready to act when they did so.

Piper and Nico crept under the stands, mouthing something to him. Jason couldn’t make it out at a distance, or respond beyond blinking, but just the sight of them was a relief beyond bearing.

He let his breath out slowly, to avoid detection.

“You know, you’re not the first god to say that to us,” Sky drawled. He touched a small pendant he wore around his neck and a moment later was holding a wicked looking hatchet. “It’s almost as though you’re all incapable of believing you can be bested by mere mortals.”

Behind Dolos Sun had produced a mace that burned like a sun and Sea had a sword that shimmered like it was too sharp to be real.

“Now where did you get those?” asked Dolos, eyeing the weapons.

“Why do you think we want Percy Jackson?” asked Sky. “The Broker’s auction house demands high prices for these _mere_ _trinkets_.”

“This sword was my father’s,” Sea said. His tone was lecturing, almost as though he was in classroom and no one else was speaking. The sword in his hand glittered along its edge, supernaturally sharp. “Its name is Fragarach, otherwise called the Answerer. When the edge of the blade is laid across your throat, you are bound and must speak only the truth.”

“Wow,” Sky drawled. “I wonder what that would do to a god of lies?”

“Apostate demigods,” Dolos spat, but all the same he took a step back from them. “Artifacts from your endling god-parents are nothing before the might of a true pantheon. What possible trickle of belief could empower them?”

Despite the bravado of his words, Jason could see he was afraid.

“As we said: the Broker demands high prices,” Sky said raising his hatchet almost reflectively, gently caressing the edge of its blade. “And now, I think, we have something else to offer him: fuel.”

“You _dare?_ ” Dolos snarled, his clown makeup framing his anger and magnifying it. Jason had never been scared of clowns or anything like that, but after this, he might have to rethink that position.

Jason stiffened at the feeling of cool fingers on his wrist. His Celestial Bronze manacles were magic, or at least covered in runes, and preventing him from summoning any of his powers, but apparently that didn't apply to someone else touching them.

He glanced at Piper and Nico and saw only a pulsing mass of shadows where Nico should be. Piper was nowhere to be found.

“Come on, Nico,” Jason whispered under his breath.

Jason did his best to keep his focus on the conflict brewing in front of him, with one eye toward his eventual rescue. The moment someone got the manacles off his wrists Jason was going to start throwing thunderbolts left and right.

“What is there to dare?” asked Sky. He raised his hatchet and in one smooth motion struck at Dolos. A great crackling burst of electric energy surged out from the impact, Sky’s hatchet striking an invisible barrier that reflected the energy of his weapon across the big tent.

The energy felt familiar to Jason, raising the hairs on his skin. It wasn’t the Master Bolt, but it was comparable at least in tone if not in strength.

It was a god’s lightning.

Jason kept his feet flat on the ground in case he got struck. The hands that had been working his bindings open withdrew when the lightning struck. They soon reappeared, though and were nearly finished tugging Jason’s restraints apart.

“Boys!” Dolos bellowed, and suddenly the empty stands of the big tent were swarming with creepy, predatory clowns, their teeth needle sharp and gleaming. " _Git 'em._ "

Jason felt Nico’s fingers fumble before resuming, and finally forcing opening his manacles. They fell with a clatter lost in the noise of Sky, Sun, and Sea defending themselves against the horde of clowns.

It was quite the spectacle, each of their weapons was powerful and the moment Jason was free, he was dodging back from a blast of light so bright and hot it was basically a laser.

“What the—Grace is free!” Sky shouted.

Jason lunged to the side of a blast of wind, springing nimbly to his feet and letting his own burst of wind lift him up into the air.

Piper and Nico were making their way through the stands, crouched low and with the shadows thick around them. Jason was fine with drawing the focus of the fight below if it let Piper and Nico sneak around more: not only would it keep them safe, but Jason had total faith that the two of them could figure things out.

Until then, he’d do what he was best at, as either the son of Jupiter or the son of Zeus. He’d draw the focus of everyone’s attention, and do what was expected of him.

Jason raised his hand and let the lightning crackle forth from it. All the times he’d used his father’s fulgurite and channeled his power made it almost easy. Lightning streamed forth from Jason’s palm and scorched the center of the big top’s center stage.

All three of the apostate demigods leaped back, along with the feral, sharp-toothed clowns. Dolos himself was looking at Jason with an expression straddling the border between surprise and relief.

Jason didn’t have time to examine that, though. He was too busy dodging bursts of energy: bolts of lightning and sunlight so hot they seared the air.

“Sun, give us some room!” Sea yelled as he cut down a predatory clown.

Sun raised his mace, but Jason wasn’t going just to let him act freely.

Power crackled inside him and with a gesture, Jason flung lightning right at Sun. The blast caught Sun dead center, and it was only the fact that Jason had pulled some of his strength that kept the guy from being blasted in two.

No matter how angry he was, Jason refused to kill a mortal unless he was pushed to the very edge of survival.

A cold, burning line appeared on Jason’s throat, and he realized he was being held by Dolos, a knife resting almost gently on his Adam’s apple. Dolos floated behind him; his mouth pressed close to Jason’s ear.

“Just roll with it,” Dolos whispered. Then he leaned back and shouted, “I’ve got the Son of Jupiter, once you lot take out those demigods then we can feast!”

The ravenous, needle-toothed clowns shrieked as if in triumph, and cascaded over the apostate demigods.

“So… I kind of need your guys’ help,” Dolos murmured into Jason’s ear.

“Oh, really?” Jason asked as Dolos guided them down through the air to land in the stands. Jason did his best to keep his eyes from glancing towards Piper and Nico. They were his only hope of rescue if things went south, and even if Dolos knew they were there, Jason hoped he didn’t know exactly where.

“Yeah, I do,” Dolos told him. “The Psuedologoi _really_ don’t want to rejoin Olympus, and they expect me to keep resisting with them.”

The Psuedologoi. Jason wracked his brain for the Roman equivalent: the Mendacium. They were the spirits of deception, the manifestations of lies and deceit. And Dolos, or Mendacius as he was known in Latin, was the king of these spirits.

“But you don’t want to,” Jason surmised.

“Got it in one,” Dolos said as he settled onto a bench with Jason. “I have no desire to perish if the Trimurti overthrows Olympus, and when I prove myself while the Olympians are bound, I’ll be recognized and welcomed home with open arms when they come back around.”

Jason refrained from scowling. He recognized bargaining, and as much as he didn’t care for it, he also recognized that the more immortals aligned with the Greco-Roman mythos meant a more stable Axis Mundi.

The only the problem was that Dolos was effectively the King of Lies. How far could Jason trust him?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Dolos muttered. Jason was standing on a bench in the stands with Dolos behind him. “Can I trust him? Well, I understand your reluctance, so I’ve got something to offer you.”

“And what’s that?” Jason asked, keeping his gaze focused on the battle before him. Piper and Nico were still free to act, and he wouldn’t compromise their freedom just to assuage his anxiety. Jason trusted them with his life, and he was assured in the fact that trust would be rewarded.

Which gave him the freedom to act nonchalant, something that Dolos didn’t seem to appreciate.

“It’s your life,” Dolos nearly snarled.

In front of them, the apostate demigods were forcing back the endless horde of predator clowns. From the corner of his vision, Jason could see Dolos’ eyes kept flickering back and forth between Jason and the battle.

“Yeah, that’s not good enough,” Jason told him. “My life is pretty much always on the line. Try again.”

There was a pregnant pause, and then Dolos chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain, son of Jupiter. Very well, the Pseudologoi are an ill-kept mob barely under my control. If you want to direct their allegiance towards Olympus you need to offer me something that offers to them as well, while maintaining the illusion they’re getting the better part of the deal.”

Jason thought fast. “You’re being awfully up-front about that.”

“I’m practiced at using the truth as though it’s a lie,” Dolos told him. “Just as I know your friends are lurking right below us and are ready to try and tear you from my grasp.”

Jason swallowed. He had a choice: to trust or not to trust.

He erred on the side of divine self-preservation instincts.

“We’re planning to make a series of Mythomagic action figures,” Jason said. “We’ve given the first round of toys once the Olympians are complete to Kymolopea, but after that, we have room to negotiate. How would the Pseudologoi enjoy being the first official expansion of the toy line?”

Dolos hummed appreciatively, but Jason didn’t let himself relax.

“We’re also building temples for all the gods at Camp,” Jason offered.

“Really?” asked Dolos. “You’re prepared to build temples for each of them?”

“That would be something to negotiate with, certainly,” Jason said with a calm he didn’t feel.

A ball of fire and light exploded from where the Psuedologoi were fighting the apostate demigods. It seemed like a stalemate before him, which meant whatever his negotiation with Dolos ended on would sway the balance.

Or Nico and Piper would. Either way, Jason’s best bet was to buy for time.

“You’re right, but they’re going to need something first. An offering to appease them for negotiations,” Dolos said.

Jason almost sighed. Gods always wanted sacrifices. “What would do the trick?”

“A lie,” Dolos told him. “A sacred lie, one that you tell yourself.”

“I don’t—I don’t have anything like that,” Jason protested.

“Of course you don’t,” Dolos whispered. “Who would ever need to tell themselves a lie?”

Jason took a deep, steadying breath. Dolos was right: who would admit they told themselves a lie? If Jason were to find something to offer the Pseudologoi he would need to examine himself, to find some truth he didn’t want to acknowledge.

“But I have something if you want to find such a lie in yourself,” Dolos whispered. “A mirror of my own design, one that reveals even the most unwanted truths in its reflection.”

Somehow, probably because he knew enough about trickster gods never to trust them, Jason thought this was probably a bad idea. Using the mirror, that is, not the offering thing. Gods always loved offerings.

“Yeah, thanks, but I think I’ll pass on the mirror,” Jason said.

“You can only discover lies in the light of truth—you need a mirror to behold yourself in, Jason Grace.”

There was a certain logic to Dolos’s statement. Jason didn’t know what lies he told himself, he couldn’t be, not if it was a lie he believed.

“Or I could just ask my friends for help.”

Dolos laughed. “If you’re confident you can weather that storm… by all means.”

Dolos dropped him. If Jason couldn’t fly it would have ended badly, instead he drifted down into the stands.

A moment later Nico and Piper emerged from the shadows under the bench below him.

“What did Dolos want?” Nico asked him.

Jason didn’t bother asking how Nico knew who Dolos was. “He says the Pseudologoi are out of his control, and he needs an offering to appease them, so he can convince them to sign back up with Olympus.”

“So what’s he think they want?” asked Piper. She was watching the fight still on-going before them. The Apostate demigods were holding their own, but the Pseudologoi seemed to return as fast as they splintered into golden dust after being killed.

“A lie, one I tell myself,” Jason said. “He wanted me to use some sort of mirror he’d made, but I didn’t think…”

“Trusting a trickster you don’t have leverage over is almost invariably a bad choice,” said Nico dryly.

“Also, we broke a bunch of mirrors on the way here,” Piper added.

“Right. Okay, so—I need you guys to give me something,” Jason said. “Something you think I’m lying to myself about.”

Nico blinked at him blankly, but it was mostly Piper that Jason had eyes for. He tried to communicate with his gaze that he knew what he was asking. For Piper to flay him open, and force him to face something terrible, just like Cupid had with Nico.

“I don’t know, Jason,” Piper looked at him helplessly. “A lie you tell yourself? How would I know? Are you telling yourself any lies?”

“Well I wouldn’t know either, would I?” Jason protested.

“No, you would,” Nico said, and they both looked at him. “Deep down… you’d know. Maybe not that it was a lie, but you’d know it wasn’t right, that you couldn’t bear to face it.”

Jason swallowed, his throat closing up at the pain in Nico’s voice. “How?”

“It would hurt,” Nico said bluntly. “The idea would have a weight and gravity all its own, and it would pull at you. And you would know that it was not to be disturbed without consequence.”

“So… what if I don’t have that?” Jason asked.

There was a pregnant pause as they all considered the problem.

“You know,” said Nico slowly, “Dolus was trained by Prometheus. And at some point, Prometheus was commissioned to sculpt the spirit of truth, Veritas, but he was summoned away by Zeus, and Dolus was left alone with the statue. He tried to copy it, but ran out of clay when he got the feet and by then Prometheus returned. But Prometheus thought it was such a good copy that it deserved to be recognized in its own right, and kept the statue as it was.”

“Then we make something up,” said Piper with a wicked smile. “It’s gotta be something believable, though.”

“Okay… so something that seems like a lie I would tell myself,” Jason said slowly. He couldn't help but think of the last time something like this had happened when Cupid had pressured Nico to reveal his feelings for Percy.

“Anything springing to mind?” Piper asked, her voice gentle and almost coaxing.

Jason looked at Nico, and he knew they were both thinking about Cupid when Nico offered him a sardonic smile.

“I could pretend that I'm gay,” Jason said.

Nico started choking, but Piper was nodding slowly.

“Yeah, that might just work. I’ll start fake crying, and Nico can you just be generally reassuring?”

“Um—yeah,” Nico cleared his throat. “So, you’re just gonna pretend to be gay?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean… yeah?”

Nico didn’t look entirely satisfied by that.

“Does it bother you?” Jason asked, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder only to have it shrugged off.

“No, it makes the most sense, it’s just a bit… surreal,” Nico said, but he wasn’t meeting Jason’s eyes.

“I think it’s our best shot,” said Piper. “But we gotta get rid of those three first.”

Despite the seemingly endless horde of the Psuedologoi, the apostate demigods were holding their own, trying to hunt Dolos as he flitted around the big top.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of that,” said Nico, his sword suddenly in his. “I need to let off some steam.”

Before Jason could do more than trade a worried glance with Piper, Nico sank into the shadows. Literally, straight down into a puddle of darkness so black it disoriented Jason before the shadow vanished.

“Damn it, Nico,” Jason swore. He grabbed the bench to the railing to haul himself up. “We have to help him.”

“Jason, stop,” Piper said, grabbing his wrist. “I think it’d be better just to let him work out some stuff. We need to go over our game plan.”

“But Nico…”

The stands on the opposite end of the big tent, right next to the apostate demigods battling the psuedologoi, seemed to explode, darkness detonating like a bomb that ripped everything in its path apart.

“Nico’s gonna be fine,” said Piper. “Now focus.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to everyone who came through and helped me with this Callout Post drama and to everyone who wanted to help but who already had too much bullshit going on their lives anyway. I see you fam, you guys all rock, and this fic wouldn't be continuing without your support!

 Oregon -- Ludo’s Magnificent Cirque Du Extravagansa

_These secrets you hide_

_They will devour you whole_

Nico 

Nico hadn’t been lying when he said he wanted to let off some steam. The Hall of Mirrors had preyed on pieces of himself that were still healing and made him so angry he tasted copper.

On his head the Helm radiated cold, flooding Nico’s body with power that streamed down his spine like a glacial runoff. When he roared up from the shadows, shattering benches and throwing clowns everywhere, it was incredibly satisfying.

“What the hell!” Sky yelled. Nico nearly laughed--after all, Sky was right even if he hadn’t meant to be.

Nico let the darkness melt around him, falling over his shoulders like a cloak. Using the Helm, the shadows responded to his every whim, like the darkness was an extension of his will, along with the fear that trailed in its wake.

With a thought Nico spread the darkness over the big top, drawing the shadows long and thick until the entire tent grew dim.

The Pseudologoi had slowed their attacks. Now they milled about on their hideously oversized feet, hissing warily through their needle sharp teeth at the darkness.

Meanwhile, the apostate demigods had moved back to back, their weapons up as they looked about cautiously.

“Dolos, you coward!” Sky yelled. “Come out and face us!”

There was no response, just the silence of an ever-growing darkness. Nico sank into it and became invisible.

“Is the god of deceit afraid?” taunted Sea. “Or just trying to play us?”

“Oh, no,” said Sky dramatically, one hand clapping to his cheek. “Whatever shall we do? Sun, do you have any ideas?”

The boy named Sun, who Nico had first met as Tanner, had a rage behind his eyes that told Nico he was the most dangerous of the three.

That was all right, Nico could be dangerous too.

“Burn it all down,” said Sun, his eyes burning with hate. “And sift through the ashes for bones.”

Now that was a cue if Nico had ever heard one. Nico let the cold of death bleed out from the shadows. As the underworld swirled into existence around the big top, Nico watched with satisfaction as the clowns and apostate demigods shivered.

“It’s funny you should mention bones,” Nico said his immediate proximity from invisibility startling all of them. He chuckled as immortals and demigods alike whirled around with their guard up, searching for him.

“You!” Sun shouted while the other two cursed in dismay, bringing their guard up against the new threat.

Too bad for them they didn’t know that Nico’s reach ran wider and deeper than most. After all, there were dead people almost everywhere, and now, with the Helm’s power, Nico could pull the dead right out of the underworld itself with ease.

Skeletal hands burst through the dirt floor of the tent, scrabbling for purchase on the hard-packed earth to claw their way into the world. Some of them had weapons, a few armor, but most of them were just ragged collections of old bones, clicking and clacking in an eerie almost-silence as they rose up, animated by Nico’s will.

It was then that Nico finally let the invisibility fall away from him, which must have made him seem to appear from nothing, a figure revealed in the shadows.

The Psuedologoi wailed and fled to the stands. They cowered beneath the benches and behind the railings, an effect utterly ruined by their large colorfully clothed butts comically bobbing out from cover.

That just left Nico and the apostate demigods down in the center ring, circling each other with atavistic tension. Nico’s sudden appearance had rattled the apostate demigods almost as much as it had scared the Psuedologoi, but the three of them put on a good front.

“So,” Nico drawled with a wicked grin. “Who wants to go first?”

To their credit, the apostate demigods didn’t automatically fall to their knees in fear when Nico let his aura sweep over them. Sea and Sky both staggered, but Sun just glared at him hatefully.

Nico’s lips twisted at the near-irony.

“Well, well, well, looks like we have us a consolation prize,” Sky did his best to drawl just like Nico as though he remained unruffled by Nico’s sudden appearance. “I suppose one son of the Olympian Kings is pretty much the same as another.”

“You’d be surprised,” Nico told him. “You’re lucky it was Jason you took—he’s an inherently good guy. He doesn’t like to hurt people.”

Nico raised his sword up over his head until the tip was perpendicular to the ground beneath his feet.

“That’s not an aversion I share,” he told the apostate demigods with a grin.

“HAH!” Sky swung his ax and lightning burst out of it, the light momentarily driving back the shadows.

Nico didn’t bother moving, but a section of earth in front of him burst up like a wall. The lightning struck it and dissipated harmlessly, and the wall dropped down as Nico willed it so.

He dropped his sword to point directly at the demigods, who flinched as the Stygian Iron cut the air.

“Take them,” Nico ordered.

The skeletons, which had been sedately dragging themselves up, suddenly came alive, their attention swiveling to the apostate demigods with atavistic precision. The synchronized movement of their hollow eye sockets, training on the demigods like magnets pulling toward each other, was terrifying.

Nico was laughing as the demigods fell back. He’d been pushed around by these jerks enough. This time they weren’t catching him alone or by surprise, not haggard and worn out from fleeing gods and monsters with Percy and Jason. 

This time Nico was fully rested and prepared, and most important of all, he had unimpeded access to the shadows once again with his father’s helm. This time, Nico would show them the fate that waited anyone who ever threatened the boy he loved. 

He would show them what it meant to fear the reaper.

The skeletons hurled themselves at the demigods. Sun raised his hand and light shot out from it and shattered the darkness, but only for a moment. Nico’s will drove the shadows forward until they devoured every last shred of the light, plunging the entire tent into near blackness.

Nico melted back into the dark until he had stepped out of the light entirely.

“Where did he go?” Sky snarled as he cut down a skeleton even as another skeletal hand pushed out of the dirt to snag his ankle.

Nico grinned, though they couldn’t see him, he didn't dare laugh. He moved behind Sun and tapped the flat of his blade to Sun’s calf as Sun blocked a strike from an armed skeleton.

Sun screamed as Nico dragged enough life force out of him to make him collapse to the ground.

“Sun!” Sea dashed to his side as Nico stepped back.

“What the fuck!” Sky yelled. Lightning erupted from his ax, cascading over his arms and blasting back every skeleton in a radius around him and his fellows. “Where are you, you little bitch?”

“And you idiots thought you could actually handle Percy?” Nico taunted them. Dodging their blows was easy when they had no idea where he was—at least not while skeletons were actively trying to kill them.

“What a joke,” Nico laughed. “You can’t even handle me!”

Sky whirled around to face Nico, but Nico kept moving, the Helm obscuring him from sight. As Sky swung about wildly with his axe, Nico flicked his fingers, causing the ground to shift beneath his feet. Sky lost his footing for a moment, just long enough for Nico lay Stygian iron against his skin and pull.

This fight was almost too easy, Nico thought as Sky crumpled to the ground. He turned on the other two and let the Helm pull him out of the light.

“Magic! We need evac, now!” Sea screamed.

There was a whispering sound that spun through the shadows like movement in the corner of one’s eye. Nico snarled and slammed the darkness down like a wall, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Before his eyes, the apostate demigods shattered like glass and vanished from view.

Nico let the darkness go, and a moment later the Big Top was fully illuminated. He was almost disappointed, being able to fight at full strength with the Helm on top of that had made the fight borderline enjoyable. The skeletons were already slumping to the ground, their bones sinking into the earth like quicksand before it sealed up into the hard packed dirt.

Nico caught Jason and Piper’s eyes. They nodded.

Time to get the show on the road.  

“Dolos! I have an offering to make,” Jason called.

“Do you now?” Dolos asked as he descended from the ceiling his ringmaster’s coat billowing behind him. “Hear that, boys? We’ve got an offer on the table!”

Nico met Jason and Piper in the center of the ring as the stands filled with clowns. The number of Psuedologoi didn’t seem to have been impacted by the fight with the apostate demigods.

Dolos sauntered toward them, twirling a cartoonish cane.

“Well, let’s hear what you have for us?”

Jason looked at Piper, fear sketched out on his face, while Piper was… rolling her eyes and tossing her hair.

“Just get on with it, Jason, whatever your _big secret_ is it can’t be that bad,” she said testily.

Nico had to admit Piper was a pretty good actor. Maybe it was hereditary.

“Oh, but it has to be, else wise it’s not worth much!” Dolos tittered as the stands filled with predatory clowns. “Now, let’s get this show started! Come One, Come All, step right up to the Cirque du Extravagansa’s Magnificently Mendacious Mirror Unveiling!”

Lights came on, and suddenly the three of them were in the center of the now full big top. Clowns were snacking on cotton candy and popcorn, their wickedly needle sharp teeth at odds with the soft pink and fluffy white kernels.

“Our first and only act, the subject of tribute, a son of our dear Pater Zeus--that’s Jupiter for all you kids in the audience--and prospective high priest for New Rome and Camp Half-Blood, it’s Jason Grace!”

Jason waved his hand, looking pale and waxen. The clowns cheered, or rather shrieked, letting out a sound so high and ugly it put Nico in the mind of ten thousand furious weasels screeching in unison.

“Today, Jason has prepared an offering, a sacred lie--spotlight please--there we go.” Dolos sidled up to Jason who was now bathed in a soft light column while the lights of the stands went dim, casting the tent into a hushed, dramatic relief. “So step right up, step right up and let’s get ready to hear--THE SACRED LIE!”

The clowns hooped and hollered, honking their red rubber noses with rowdy abandon.

“Wait, I have to tell all of them?” Jason asked, sounding panicked.

“That’s the deal!”

“No, it wasn’t! You just said I had to make an offering. I could… write it down!”

The clowns began booing loudly.

“I’m afraid no can do, buckaroo!” Dolos twirled his baton, fluffing the brilliant crimson tailcoat that had suddenly appeared on his near-portly frame. “See, part of what makes a lie you tell yourself a lie is that it’s a lie you to tell to others, too. A lie, you see is something you build between people--and a true lie is something that reflects the real you.”

Out of Dolos’s baton unfolded a small raised platform and a large oblong ornate bronze backing. The surface was so reflective that Nico could see himself and everyone else in it.

Like a mirror.

“But it’s not us you have to tell!” Dolos went on, directing Jason onto the little platform, turning him to face the mirror. “We need only bear witness! No… this is a lie you told yourself, and it must be offered as such. Only by telling yourself the lie will it be made unreal in yourself.”

Nico had never seen a mirror quite like this one before, at least not so large. Typically bronze mirrors were smaller, almost handheld affairs. This mirror stood taller than Jason, smithed from celestial bronze polished to such an intense degree that it reflected nearly as well as silver-backed glass.

The spotlight hit the bronze mirror and for a moment gleamed too brightly to bear. Then it faded, and to Nico’s mild surprise seemed to be almost transparent, revealing the pattern on the back, a vaguely human figure surrounded by wavy patterns--along with a reflection of Jason.

“I told you I didn’t need the mirror,” said Jason stiffly.

“Don’t you worry, Jason Grace, this mirror won’t create a shade to reveal you. At least, not so long as you tell… the truth.”

Nico’s heart sank. Did Dolos know their plan? If Jason’s lie wasn’t true, then they were in for a fight.

“Ugh. Can we get this over with now?” groaned Piper. Jason seemed to shrink, and Nico wondered if Piper had given him acting tips.

“Now, now, no need to posture,” said Dolos reprovingly as he twirled his cane. Somewhere distant a drumroll began. “After all, we only need one deception up here today.”

Jason stiffened and glanced worriedly back at them. Piper’s tan face had paled as they all realized at the same time that Dolos had seen through them.

“Step up to the mirror and tell us… _your sacred lie!_ ”

Nico gently gripped the hilt of his sword as Jason drew a shaky breath. Dolos obviously knew what they had been up to, but he didn't seem to care. That spelled trouble to Nico.

“Uh." Jason cleared his throat. "I’m straight.”

In the mirror, the figure behind Jason’s reflection seemed to bulge. In the stands, the Psuedologoi began to scream--not in anger, but in fear, as they were sucked forward into the mirror like a vacuum devouring paper streamers.

“Piper, get down,” Nico shouted and pulled her to the floor with him.

“Yes, yes!” Dolos cried.

The torrent of clowns transforming into colorful handkerchiefs rushing into the rippling mirror trapped Jason on the platform. He shouted as the ribbons swarmed up and over him nearly pinning him to the mirror except for how the ribbons grew too thick as they were absorbed. To Nico’s relief, he didn’t sound pained, just uncomfortable and surprised.

Finally, the rushing howl stopped and the mirror warped as the figure inside it strained, becoming liquid like mercury.

Out staggered a woman. Dolos shoved Jason aside, heedlessly knocking him to the floor of the big top as the bronze woman swooned into Dolos’s arms.

A moment later Nico saw why--she had no feet. Instead, her legs ended in jagged, unfinished stumps.

“Jason!” Piper rushed to his side.

“Mendacia,” Dolos breathed. “You’ve returned to me.”

“You found me a lie that could revive me,” said Mendacia, her voice breathy and low.

Wait--what? Nico looked at Piper and Jason, who were both staring at the gods on the tiny dais. Had all of this been some sort of trick?

“I very nearly thought I’d have to go through all three of them for something,” murmured Dolos as he stroked her hair from her face. “Collecting falsehoods piecemeal to assemble you. How lucky I was to find a deception within a revelation and a revelation within a deception, I wonder?”

“Liar,” teased Mendacia, tapping Dolos's nose playfully with one bronze finger before tracing his prominent mustache. “Luck had naught to do with it, scoundrel.”

“Guilty!”

The gods laughed and turned to smile winningly at the three somewhat dumbstruck demigods.

“We shall report to Olympus after we’ve… reacquainted ourselves with each other,” said Dolos while Mendacia coiled herself around Dolos’s arm like a snake.

Then they vanished.

An awkward silence quickly filled the Big Top in the wake of their departure.

“So…” Nico trailed off.

“Uh.” Jason was still gaping, and Piper was approaching him cautiously.

“Jason?”

“But… I…” Jason’s jaw worked, and Piper touched his shoulder. “I like girls! I swear, Piper, I’m not lying about us--”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow your roll, Sparky,” said Piper soothingly. “You… you know that you can like both, right?”

“Well, yeah, but _I_ don’t!” Jason protested with a sputter. “Look, being able to recognize when your bro is good looking is not bisexuality!”

“I’m… just gonna call us a ride,” said Nico to nobody, since Jason and Piper probably deserved some privacy. Piper had taken Jason's hands in hers and spoke to him quietly, gently, and Jason was shaking his head. 

“Mr. Beauregard? Are you there, boy?” Nico whistled and then waited. Piper and Jason kept speaking in low voices, their foreheads resting together.

Then came the sound of humongous doggy feet padding across packed earth.

“Jupiter’s beard!” Jason screeched as a humongous black dog galloped out of the shadows of the stands.

“Good boy, Mr. Beauregard, good boy,” said Nico proudly as the hellhound snuffled him fondly--and gently.

“Mr. Beauregard?” Jason asked Nico, a little laugh to his voice that might have been slightly hysterical too.

“It’s a fine name,” said Nico quickly, refraining from snapping at Jason because… well, because.

“I’m sure Jason didn’t mean to imply otherwise,” said Piper, who was still rubbing comforting little circles on Jason’s arms and his back. Jason hastily assured both Nico and Mr. Beauregard that was the case.

They mounted the giant hellhound and then plunged back into the shadows. A short jaunt later they were back on the hillside, greeted eagerly by a relieved if somewhat aggrieved satyress.

While Linda fed them a proper breakfast, she gave them some much appreciated good news.

“Yeah, I got a lead on Attis from Grover,” she said after she'd finished fussing over their food. “We’re heading north to the Olympic Peninsula, next. Good job with Dolos though, he’s the sketchier sort of trickster, but a god’s a god.”

“Tricksters,” Nico muttered. The only gods worse than tricksters in his opinion (and, somewhat ironically, one he shared with Percy) were love gods.

Jason ate his omelet mechanically, and Piper kept shooting him worried glances.

“Alright kiddos, I’m gonna hit the stream and report back to camp. Don’t go getting kidnapped while I’m gone.” Linda chuckled to herself and started trotting down the hillside.

That left the three of them, sitting around the freshly revived fire with their tin plates and breakfast. Nico looked at Piper who shrugged, looking frustrated.

“You doing okay there, Grace?” Nico asked gruffly.

Jason snorted, but it wasn’t a hopeless sound, just humorless.

“I just don’t get it,” said Jason, shaking his head. “I would know if I was bi, and I never...”

“You never what, Jason?” Piper asked gently.

“Look, just… I would know, okay?” Jason repeated it to himself, like was trying to convince someone. “I would know.”

Nico chewed his last mouthful slowly, mulling it over.

“You had your mind wiped, Jason,” said Nico. Both Piper and Jason turned their full attention to him. “Like, you’re still you, but isn’t it possible you missed something? Or something Hera--Juno--didn’t want you to have?”

“What, like she was worried that I might wind up with Leo instead of Piper?” Jason asked sarcastically.

“Eh…” Piper trailed off as Jason whirled around to gape at her in something akin to betrayal. “Look, I know Leo is, like.... terminally heterosexual, but Jason I think if you went looking, Leo would come running.”

“What?” Jason asked helplessly.

Privately, Nico started wondering if Jason had a type. Leo wasn’t really like Piper, but they were similar in a few key ways. Both were troublemakers, both weren’t very tall, both were dark skinned with bright flashing smiles and barely tamed hair, a little bruised and banged up from their lives, and both were bright and sweet down to the very core of their souls.

Of course in Nico’s opinion, Piper was sweeter, but Leo wasn’t a bad guy or anything. He was just annoying. His attachment to Jason was pretty obvious though.

Yeah, Nico could totally see Juno hedging her bets in that regard. Still, Jason was having an awful lot of trouble with this for someone who’d been so insistent that Nico could feel comfortable coming out to any of their friends.

If Nico felt like being fair, he might admit that Jason was right. Mostly he felt a bit smug that Jason’s self-assuredness was getting a healthy dose of Nico’s reality. Then he felt guilty for feeling smug.

“Yeah, so, being outed sucks,” said Nico, suddenly unable to meet Jason and Piper’s eyes directly. “But if you’re lucky, you’ve got people around you who care about you and who trust you, and that... makes a big difference.”

Jason’s teary-eyed smile could have lit up the sky, but it was Piper’s little coo that put Nico over the edge and made him turn tail and run. He shouted something over his shoulder about helping Linda pack and didn't look back.

Too many feelings for one morning!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and since I'm a petty bitch, if you were one of the two people who hurt me without apology or remorse (misterpoofofficial or booklover9561) then I sincerely hope you no longer are able to enjoy reading my stories


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